Mehbooba Mufti attacks Omar Abdullah over Article 370 remarks, says he is ‘pouring acid’ on J&K hopes

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti criticised Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for ruling out the restoration of Article 370, saying such remarks were "pouring acid" on the hopes of the people and creating a sense of defeat among them, PTI reported. 

“Stating that (Article) 370 will not return is like throwing acid on the hopes of the people of J-K, which should not be done. He wants to instill a sense of defeat among people, which I don’t think any leader should do,” Mehbooba told reporters.

Her remarks came a day after Abdullah said expecting the BJP-led Centre to restore Article 370 would be "foolishness" and that the focus should be on securing the foundation for restoring special status.

Abdullah had said that linking the demand for statehood with the restoration of Article 370 only gave the Centre an excuse to delay restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

Mehbooba said the Kashmir issue was still alive and that Articles 370 and 35A should be part of any resolution, “Statehood is a part of what happened to us in 2019. It is like cutting off someone's feet and then saying, since the feet are gone, give me the shoes. I feel this is unfair to the people of J-K and to his own party (National Conference), which made grand promises ranging from plebiscite to autonomy,” she said.

She also accused the National Conference (NC) of trying to normalise the post-2019 situation in Jammu and Kashmir by focusing only on statehood and avoiding the issue of Article 370.

“Looking at Omar Abdullah's current activities – going to Jantar Mantar and talking only about statehood, avoiding talking about Article 370 – and now claiming that its restoration is impossible, I believe they are normalising what was done to J-K in 2019,” she said.

Questioning the NC, Mehbooba asked why the party included restoration of special status in its election manifesto for the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir polls if it did not believe it could be achieved.

She also said the restoration of Article 370 and the resolution of the Kashmir issue were not false promises but could happen in the future.

Referring to her letter to NC president Farooq Abdullah over the party's protest for statehood in Delhi, Mehbooba said she had suggested an all-party meeting to build consensus.

“The mandate given by the people of J-K to Omar Abdullah was not just for statehood; it was given to address larger issues and resolve major hardships. We will keep reminding Omar Abdullah of this,” she said.

Omar Abdullah and senior NC leaders had staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Monday demanding the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. The protest was held amid heightened security arrangements due to the Cockroach Janta Party’s ‘Sansad Chalo’ march.