Srinagar, Jul 27: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday intensified his attack on PDP president Mehbooba Mufti over her controversial “Kashmir ka toh banta hai” remark at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, saying she should apologise for comments that appeared to justify the alleged misuse of power and arrests in Jammu and Kashmir.
Abdullah said Mufti’s remarks sent a dangerous message by suggesting that extraordinary measures against people in Jammu and Kashmir were acceptable because of militancy.
“What she said there… justifying the misuse of power, arrests and all these things by saying that because there is militancy in Kashmir, ‘it is justified’. On what basis is it justified?” Abdullah asked.
Questioning the logic behind the statement, he said, “Does militancy mean the law should not apply here? Does militancy mean children should not get justice? Does militancy mean people’s passports should be withheld? I don’t understand what is justified about it.”
The Chief Minister said Mufti should have acknowledged her mistake after facing criticism.
“It would not have diminished her stature if she had simply admitted that she had spoken in the heat of the moment and apologised,” he said, accusing the PDP of aggravating the controversy by claiming through one of its legislators that the viral video was AI-generated.
“The entire national media was present there. There is more than one recording. You should at least acknowledge that what you said was wrong,” he said.
Abdullah also linked the remarks to the broader political atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir, arguing that such statements undermine democratic dissent.
“When a former Chief Minister says suppressing protests through force is justified, then who among Kashmiris will come out to demand their rights?” he said. “If tomorrow we protest for statehood, people will hesitate because they will believe there is open permission for repression.”
He further criticised what he described as a dual political approach, saying, “It is an old habit—one thing in Kashmir and another in Delhi.”
Referring to the recent arrests of thousands of protesters, Abdullah reiterated that excessive coercive measures would be counterproductive in tackling militancy.
“We cannot eliminate militancy this way. To truly end militancy, it is essential to keep the people with us. Without public support, we cannot achieve the final success,” he said.
Arguing that mass detentions deepen public resentment, Abdullah said that if 3,000 people were arrested, “at least 15,000 people” would feel alienated when their families were taken into account.
“If we continue making arrests, using bulldozers and harassing young people, people will not stand with us. If we alienate so many people, how will we succeed in the fight against militancy?” he asked.
Separately, commenting on the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Abdullah said it should have come earlier but added, “Better late than never.”
He credited protesting students rather than political parties for forcing the resignation.
“Many people will claim credit for his resignation. But if anyone truly deserves the credit, it is the students who refused to move from the protest site and did not back down from their stand,” he said.
