Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah hit out at Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti saying she has set the state on fire. Curfew and protest shutdown continue to paralyse life in Kashmir for the 34th consecutive day on Thursday.
The National Conference leader said that the errors of her government in handling the crisis are too many to count.
Violent protests rocked Kashmir a day after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces on July 8. As many as 55 persons including two cops were killed and several thousand others were injured in the clashes between protestors and security forces.
Here is an excerpt from the interview:
CNN News18: Centre says that Pakistan is behind whatever is happening on the streets, do you buy that?
Omar Abdulah: No, I don't. If Pakistan is this powerful in Jammu and Kashmir, then I think that says a lot about us and not only the mainstream, but about the government of India. Pakistan is fishing in troubled waters, there's no doubt about that and they've always done that. There's nothing new in that respect. But this current problem is not of Pakistan's creation.
CNN News18: Where do you think Mehbooba Mufti has erred in this? We saw this violence fanning out, she's not been able to have a grip on this, where has she erred exactly?
Omar Abdulah: Look, I don't think you have enough time for me to give you the list of errors of judgement that this government has made. The biggest error of judgement has been in their assessment of the fallout of Burhan Wani's death and then tackling it. After that, it has been one mistake after another. There have been contradictory statements by the Chief Minister and her ministers, contradictory statements between the BJP and the PDP. I fail to understand, when the Chief Minister says that these last 50 odd sacrifices will not go in vain, what is she offering? Because if the Prime Minister is only offering development and says the state government is on the same page, I'm sorry these 50 people did not die for development, they died for something more than that. So if the Chief Minister says these sacrifices will not go in vain, I think she and the Central government need to come on the same page and tell us what exactly are they offering, because I see nothing new on offer today.
CNN News18: Do you think that Mehbooba Mufti now needs to quit?
Omar Abdulah: I am not going to ask for that. That is between her, her colleagues, her allies and her own conscience. It is not for me to ask her to resign. The fact that we are facing this situation because of her government is something that you cannot escape. The handling of the government by the government has been poor, you can't escape that either. But I would rather Mehbooba Mufti doesn't run away from this situation. She can't always set fire to the state and then run away.
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