Farooq Abdullah questions who caused J&K to go from paradise on earth to hell, blaming the BJP

Farooq Abdullah, a seasoned politician and the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir said on Tuesday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was responsible for converting the former state into a Union Territory and sending it into “hell”.

The issue began when Abdullah, a Srinagar-based Lok Sabha MP currently serving, said that he would “let Kashmir go to hell.”

But when the dispute began to air on news outlets, Abdullah provided clarification by asking the BJP questions and charging the party with converting paradise on Earth into hell.

The BJP has been claiming that the mishandling of Jammu and Kashmir’s affairs by the Abdullah regime and its successor administrations was the reason for the emergence of terrorism in the former state.

In response to Abdullah’s remarks, BJP national spokesman Shehzad Poonawalla said, “Farooq says this after DMK seeking self-determination! Only because the Supreme Court upheld the 370 abrogation, which put a stop to the politics of “pathar baazi,” which is stone-pelting, “parivarvaad,” and “Pakistan parasti,” which is support!”This is the real face of the INDI Alliance! They have no regard for J&K and just want to reclaim (Article) 370. On the microblogging site “X,” he tweeted, “Or else INDI Alliance must condemn this statement,” alluding to the opposition group that the National Conference is a part of.

In his explanation, Abdullah did, however, mention a number of difficulties, such as J&K’s downgrade and splitting as well as the absence of elections for the previous four years.

“Kashmir is not on fire because of me. Kashmir and Jammu was paradise. Who made it into Hell? Have we succeeded in winning people over? Why can’t elections be conducted in Kashmir if they can be held anyplace in the nation? Abdullah enquired.

He suggested that the media be utilized to win people over to compassion, accusing certain media outlets of inciting hostility in the nation. He said, “We have many enemies, and this hatred-fueled spread will only make us weaker.”

Earlier in the day, Abdullah had voiced his dissatisfaction with the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding Article 370’s abrogation and said that Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, was not to blame.

His remark followed Home Minister Amit Shah’s accusation in Parliament that Nehru was responsible for the Kashmir crisis, citing the “mistakes” of announcing an “untimely” ceasefire and bringing the matter to the UN.

“I don’t know why they have venom against Nehru,” Abdullah said to reporters. It is not Nehru’s fault. Sardar Patel was there when Article (370) was introduced.”

“Nehru was in America at the time of the Cabinet meeting. The decision was taken with Shyama Prasad Mukherjee there as well, according to Abdullah, a former chief minister of the defunct state.

The Supreme Court on Monday unanimously upheld the 2019 revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted the former state of J&K special status, even as it directed assembly elections there by September 30 and the restoration of statehood “as soon as possible,” marking a significant victory for the Narendra Modi administration.

“They had control of the situation from the start. In response to the decision, Abdullah said, “Let’s see what happens in the future.”

When asked if J&K had developed after Article 370 was repealed, he said, “Go there and see for yourself.”

“We want the holding of elections. We had hoped that in addition to asking for elections to be conducted right away, the Supreme Court would request the removal of Article 370. Why is there a point when they granted us till September? They suggested they would discuss statehood at a later time. Justice, where is it? Abdullah asked a question.

When asked about India’s claim to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, he said, “The government must make this decision.” Nobody has ever been stopped by us. We have no significance.