Ex-CM holds Centre’s move to change J&K status responsible for Chinese aggression

Sitting Member of Parliament from Srinagar and former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Sunday made yet another provocative statement claiming  China “never accepted” the Abrogation of Article 370 and hoped that it will be restored with China’s support. 

It is for the second time Farooq has attempted to link the issue of Abrogation of Article 370 and the Chinese aggression at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.

In the last week of September 2020, Farooq had  also claimed  in an interview with a news portal that after the abrogation of Article 370, the Kashmiri people “do not feel or want to be Indian” and they would rather prefer to be ruled by China, instead of India.  Speaking to a reporter of a private news channel on the sidelines of a function in Srinagar on Sunday, the National Conference president, wearing a black hat, also held the Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370 responsible for the Chinese aggression  at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.

Further provoking New Delhi, Farooq went on to claim that China “never accepted” the Abrogation of Article 370, and hoped that it will be restored with China’s support.

“Whatever they are doing at LAC in Ladakh all because of the abrogation of Article 370, which they never accepted. I am hopeful that with their support, Article 370 will be restored in J&K,” Farooq said.

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Farooq claimed, “I never invited the Chinese President, it was the Prime Minister who not only invited him to Gujarat but did jhoola sawari with him.

“He even took him to Chennai and had food with him. Even then the decision (Abrogation of Article 370)  taken by the Government was not unacceptable to them”.

Referring to the recent Parliament session, Farooq  said he was not even allowed to speak on the problems of Jammu & Kashmir in Parliament. In his brief speech inside the Parliament on September 22, Farooq had sought the restoration of Jammu & Kashmir’s special status which was abrogated on August 5 last year.  

“There will be no peace in Jammu & Kashmir unless decisions taken on August 5, 2019 are not revoked and the region’s special status is restored”.

Farooq had also participated in the protest outside  Parliament along with sitting PDP MPs.