Two former chief ministers, Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, were locked in a verbal duel on Tuesday over the status of two Muslim-majority regions in Jammu, with the PDF chief’s proposal for two separate divisions, leading to accusations from the NC boss of supporting the Dixon Plan.

Mehbooba shot back and claimed the ruling National Conference founder, Sheikh Abdullah, once favoured the Dixon Plan and even went to jail for that in 1953.

Sir Owen Dixon, the UN representative who came to the subcontinent pursuant to the Security Council’s 1950 resolution on the Kashmir dispute, had assigned Ladakh to India, the Northern Areas and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to Pakistan and envisaged a plebiscite in the Kashmir Valley. Jammu was to be split, with the Hindu majority areas going to India. The status of the Muslim-majority areas in Jammu was uncertain, but they were likely to align with Kashmir.

With the Jammu versus Kashmir confrontation gaining momentum following protests over the domination of Muslim students in the MBBS admissions in Mata Vaishno Devi Medical College, the status of Muslim-majority regions of Jammu — Chenab Valley and Pir Panjal — has triggered a sharp political debate.

Jammu’s Dogra heartland, where many people favour a separate state, claims the two regions in entirety, but many Muslims there are opposed to the idea. An MLA from Pir Panjal, Muzaffar Iqbal, recently favoured a separate state for his region.

Mehbooba on Monday called for the creation of Chenab Valley and Pir Panjal divisions, which will effectively cut the regions from Jammu’s control. The Union Territory presently has two divisions — Jammu and Kashmir.

Reacting to Mehbooba’s call, Farooq on Tuesday said: “That is a Dixon plan. You must not be knowing it. It is an old plan to divide it (Jammu). The area of one side of Chenab (Muslim-majority areas) would be part of Greater Kashmir (if implemented),” he told reporters in Jammu. India had rejected the proposal.

Farooq opposed any further division of the state and said even people of Ladakh now resent the creation of a Union Territory. The NC president suggested Mehbooba, who is presently touring Pir Panjal, was favouring further division of the state. She, however, said she never meant so.

“We respect Farooq Abdullah. He is our tallest leader, a senior. He forgets that it was his father, Sheikh Abdullah sahab, who was arrested for (supporting) the Dixon Plan. It could be the National Conference agenda, the agenda of Sheikh sahab for which he was arrested and dismissed. This is not the agenda of the party of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed sahab (her father).”

Mehbooba said she discussed the divisional status for the two regions, stating that it would help address the grievances of the two areas and empower their populations. “I spoke about administration, not the Dixon Plan. Mufti sahab spent all his life to keep Jammu and Kashmir united. He took a big decision to join hands with the BJP (in 2015) to keep the mandate of Jammu and Kashmir united.”

Sheikh was dismissed as Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir in 1953 and jailed for years over suspicion that he was pushing for greater autonomy or even independence of the state.