Kashmiris would like to be ruled by Chinese than the present government of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), Farooq Abdullah, former chief minister of Kashmir, said during a media talk aired on Wednesday.
Abdullah, the President of National Conference, said it was complete rubbish for the BJP to claim that Kashmiris have accepted the abrogation of Article 370 and 35-A of the Indian Constitution.
He expressed these views in an interview with journalist Karan Thapar for The Wire Online. “Just because there were no protests, does not mean Kashmiris have accepted the demotion of the semi-autonomous status of Jammu Kashmir to a union state territory,” he told Thapar.
Abdullah: Trust broken between Kashmiris and India
He said that the actions of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had wiped out trust from Kashmiris. “They no longer trust New Delhi. Kashmiris no longer feel Indian and don’t want to be Indian.” a furious Abdullah claimed, adding that there was hardly anyone in the valley today who would call himself an Indian.
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The former chief minister said it was convenient for the people of Jammu Kashmir to join Pakistan due to their shared religion- Islam. He added that people had united with India because they had trust in Gandhi, which they lost with Modi. “Everything goes to that side; religion goes to that side, roads and rivers go to that side, however, we decided against the current to join India,” he explained.
Every Kashmiri believes the new domicile laws are intended to create a Hindu majority … The gap between Kashmiris and the rest of the country is wider than ever before and growing,” Abdullah said.
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He recounted his meeting with PM Modi three days before the abrogation of Article 350 and 35-A last year. He said he enquired PM Modi about the heavy deployment of Indian troops in the valley and sought assurances from him regarding the continuation of Article 370 and 35-A. Abdullah asserted that PM Modi assured him that the extraordinary increase in the troops is due to security reasons. He admitted he was deceived and mislead by PM Modi.