Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s tweet labeling People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) as “Gupkar Gang” triggered a fresh war of words between him and two former Chief Ministers of Jammu & Kashmir, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, in the virtual world on Tuesday.
Reacting sharply, Omar tweeted, “We are not a “gang” Amit Shah ji, we are a legitimate political alliance having fought & continuing to fight elections, much to your disappointment”.
Following in the footsteps of Omar, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti also posted a series of tweets targeting BJP top brass. She wrote, the “BJP’s stale tactic of dividing India by projecting themselves as saviours and political opponents as internal and imagined enemies is far too predictable now.”
In a separate statement, the National Conference also rejected the allegations made by the Home Minister as a bout of frustration on account of PAGDs participation in the DDC elections.
Fueling the debate, Omar tweeted, “Only in J&K can leaders be detained & called anti-national for participating in elections & supporting the democratic process. The truth is all those who oppose the ideology of the BJP are labelled “corrupt & anti-national”.
“I can understand the frustration behind this attack by the Hon’ble Home Minister. He had been briefed that the People’s Alliance was preparing to boycott elections. This would have allowed the BJP & newly formed King’s party a free run in J&K. We didn’t oblige them.”
On the other hand, Mehbooba Mufti also commented on her twitter handle by claiming, “Love jehad, tukde tukde and now Gupkar Gang dominates the political discourse instead of (issues) like rising unemployment and inflation,” she said.
The PDP chief also wondered whether fighting elections in an alliance is also anti-national now. “BJP can stitch as many alliances in its hunger for power but somehow we are undermining national interest by putting up a united front,” she said.
“Old habits die hard. Earlier BJP’s narrative was that the tukde tukde gang threatened India’s sovereignty and they are now using ‘’Gupkar Gang’’ euphemism to project us as anti-nationals. Irony died a million deaths since it’s BJP itself that violates the Constitution day in and day out,” she tweeted.