‘Modi dividing Hindus and Muslims for votes,’ alleges NC president Farooq Abdullah

Srinagar, May 8 (PTI) National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to create divisions between Hindus and Muslims for the sake of votes and urged the public to send him out of power.

Addressing a public meeting in the Eidgah locality here in support of party candidate Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, Abdullah said, “They are spreading hatred among Muslims and Hindus. It does not behove the prime minister of India to do such things. When he goes outside the country, he is the prime minister of all Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Buddhists. But, when he seeks votes here, he tries to divide us.”

He said the BJP talks about Lord Ram as if Ram did not exist before and cited a scholar from Pakistan who wrote and Ram and Buddha both.

“A renowned religious scholar from Lahore, Dr Israr Ahmad, has written about Ram and Gautam Buddha, that both of them have been sent by God to show God’s way to the people. They have forgotten Buddha now and claim they have brought Ram,” Abdullah said.

The former Union minister also blamed the Central government for the 2019 Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed.

“The then Governor, Satya Pal Malik, himself said that (explosive-ridden) car was roaming around for three weeks and when it reached the spot, innocent people were martyred.

“He (Malik) had told the prime minister that it was our mistake that 40 CRPF personnel were killed, but Modi asked him to shut up, saying we have to blame the other country,” he said.

Abdullah said in retaliation, India carried out airstrikes in Balakot, “but then, only our plane got downed there. No one was killed, only a few trees were destroyed.”

The NC president said Modi won the elections but “created hatred” in the country.

“Now, your vote is the response to this hate. You have to use your vote to show that the decisions of August 5, 2019, are unacceptable to us,” he said, referring to the abrogation of Article 370 by the Centre.

Referring to Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to India in 1947, Abdullah said Kashmir did not join India because it was powerful, but because people thought Gandhi’s way was the way forward.

“But this is not Gandhi’s or Nehru’s India, but Modi’s India, where they consider Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs as separate. We do not accept that,” he said.