Friday, 25 April 2025
Friday, 25 April 2025
A political storm has erupted in Jammu and Kashmir following revelations from former R&AW chief A.S. Dulat’s upcoming book, The Chief Minister and the Spy, in which he claims veteran politician and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah privately supported the abrogation of Article 370.
Farooq Abdullah dismissed the claims as fiction. “Dulat sahab’s book is full of so many inaccuracies, I can’t even begin to describe them,” he said. “It’s unfortunate — if he really considers me a friend, then he wouldn’t have written such things.”
But the claim, made by someone considered close to Abdullah, has fuelled accusations of hypocrisy, betrayal, and political opportunism in the valley.
Sajad Lone, president of J&K People’s Conference and Handwara MLA, called the claim “very credible” coming from Dulat.
“Dulat sahib is the closest ally of and friend of Farooq sahib. Virtually his alter ego,” Lone wrote on X. “Of course NC will deny it. Call it yet another conspiracy against NC. They have perfected playing the victim card. I personally am not surprised at this revelation. It now seems 2024 was a prize for services rendered in 2019. Of course in national interest.”
Lone’s comments made reference to the August 4, 2019 meeting between Farooq Abdullah, his son Omar Abdullah, and the Prime Minister, a meeting that occurred just before the central government stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status.
“I can visualise Farooq sahib saying, Humey roney deejiye, Aap apna kaam karein, hum aap kay Saath hain (let us cry, but you go ahead with your work we are with you),” Lone wrote. “The theatre they enact in Assembly and outside assembly is in national interest.”
Waheed Para, Pulwama MLA and PDP youth leader said, “Dulat’s revelations today rip off the last remaining mask."
“The fiery speeches, the staged outrage, the carefully crafted image of ‘fighting the BJP’, it was all theatre. The truth is harsh but undeniable: generation after generation, the NC has built its political fortunes on the back of our dispossession,” Para added.
Iltija Mufti, daughter of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, pointed at Abdullah’s absence from Parliament on the crucial day of abrogation. “With this it’s clear that Farooq sahab chose to stay in Kashmir instead of the Parliament to help normalise the gutting of J&K’s constitution & subsequent betrayal.”
The J&K Peoples Democratic Party’s official handle posted a quote attributed to Abdullah from the book: “We would have helped (pass the proposal). Why were we not taken into confidence?”
“This sums up everything,” the PDP captioned the post.
Former Srinagar mayor Junaid Azim Mattu said, “Something seems to have fallen out of NC’s bag YET AGAIN and it does seem to be a cat. Commiserations to the vulnerable, gullible people of Kashmir.”
Tasaduq Hussain, political secretary of the J&K People’s Conference said, “History has a way of revealing truths—eventually. As Dulat’s book reveals, Dr. Farooq Abdullah privately backed the abrogation of Article 370. The public stance was just theatre. This sums up the duplicity we’ve long sensed.”
Tanvir Sadiq, NC chief spokesperson and MLA, said Dulat is creating a controversy to sell his book . “In the book, he says that the Central Govt kept an eye on Farooq Abdullah for 7 months. I think this is just an attempt to create a controversy. He is trying to sell his book, and what better than creating a controversy related to Jammu and Kashmir? What happened in 2019 was a betrayal for the people of J&K. We believe that was wrong. We were the only ones who went to the Supreme Court to fight against Article 370.”
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Farooq Abdullah's son, Omar Abdullah said on Tuesday, "We think the appropriate time has come, six months have passed since the Assembly elections. I am still hopeful that J&K will soon get its statehood back."
