The National Conference hit out former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday for claiming that NC chief Farooq Abdullah and his son, Omar Abdullah, were consulted before the repeal of Article 370 of the Constitution, claiming that he has "stooped so low" by making "baseless and senseless allegations."
Farooq Abdullah, the Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar, said it was a sad day to see "Azad stooping so low in his political utterances only to remain on the political circuit." A leader like him should not be spreading what he himself calls "gossip," he said.
The senior politician, who served as Chief Minister of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir three times, reminded Azad of the NC's support for his Rajya Sabha seat in 2015.
Azad said, in an interview with a private television channel, said that NC leaders sought time with leaders in Delhi after 11 p.m., raising public mistrust.
He further added that there was speculation in Delhi in 2019 that the Abdullah’s had prior knowledge that the provisions of Article 370 would be repealed and that they were held at their request.
Azad also accused Farooq Abdullah of using religion to get Hindu votes by visiting temples and performing "bhajans." He said it on Monday.
Farooq Abdullah, in response, said that the NC has and will always stand for secularism and that Azad should explain why he left the Congress and formed his own party in J&K.
"He needs to define which side of the fence he was on. Even after leaving the Rajya Sabha, he has continued to enjoy all of its benefits. The question is, "How?" the NC leader asked.
The former Union minister said that he and many other politicians met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the Centre's August 5, 2019 decision to abolish J&K's special status.
"Whatever we need to do, we do in broad daylight. Why would one ask for time at night...?" Abdullah inquired and regarded Azad's comments as juvenile and amusing.
Taking to X, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah said, "Wah bhai wah Ghulam Nabi Azad, and so much bile today."
Where is the Ghulam who begged for Rajya Sabha seats in J&K in 2015?" "Abdullah knew about 370′, but we were detained for more than 8 months, including under PSA, and you were free, the only ex-CM in J&K free after August 5th," he wrote on X.
The NC vice president hit out at the former Congress leader, noting that his father, Farooq Abdullah, was evacuated from a government home while not an MP.
"Abdullah’s meet secretly, yet my father was driven out of his government residence when he wasn't an MP, and you are permitted. To maintain your ministerial bungalow, he added.
"Abdullah’s say one thing in Kashmir and another in Delhi, yet the Prime Minister tears for you in the Rajya Sabha and criticizes us in every speech.
Let us not forget the Padma Award, for which you pledged to abandon Congress and support the BJP in Chenab Valley. Who is Azad, and who is Ghulam? Time will tell, and the people will decide," Omar said.
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh responded to Omar Abdullah's post on X and poked fun at Azad, saying, "Did you truly expect anything else from him? He is an awful disgrace—and has always been!"
On August 5, 2019, the BJP-led Centre repealed Article 370, which granted special status to J&K, and divided the former state into the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.
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