Farooq Abdullah’s warning on religious divide in J&K: ‘Lord Ram is everyone’s…’

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday cautioned a public gathering about the politicians trying to weaken the party by creating a religious divide.

“They will use ‘Hindu khatre mai hain’ (Hindus are in danger) a lot during the elections… but I request you to not fall prey to it,” Abdullah was quoted as saying, in what seemed to be a veiled attack at the BJP. “No religion is bad, it is humans who are corrupt, not a religion,” Abdullah insisted while addressing a public rally in Jammu and Kashmir’s Akhnoor district, reported by news agency ANI, a day after he announced he will be stepping down from the top party post.

The National Conference supremo said that he never joined hands with Pakistan, as opposed to the frequent accusations. “The National Conference (NC) never sided with Pakistan… Jinnah had come to meet my father, but we denied joining hands with him,” he said. “Lord Ram is everyone’s, not just for the people of Hindu religion,” he told the gathering.

Abdullah also attacked the Centre claiming they did not keep their promises in the union territory. “We were promised 50,000 jobs here, where are they? Our doctors, nurses, paramedical staff, and our children are all unemployed. This cannot be done by a Governor, you cannot hold him accountable. Elections are important,” he said.

Advocating for restoration of statehood of J&K, Abdullah said time is not far when Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh will be a single entity once again. In August of 2019, the central government abrogated Article 370, which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated it into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

His comments come as Jammu and Kashmir prepares for the first polls after the scrapping of Article 370. The elections are expected early next year.