Farooq Abdullah Dismisses AS Dulat’s ‘Privately Backed Article 370’ Claim as ‘Cheap Stunt’

Wednesday saw National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah lash out at an allegation made by former R&AW chief A. S. Dulat that the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir had "privately supported" the abrogation of Article 370, in a statement made on Wednesday.

According to Abdullah, that was just Dulat's "cheap stunts", so that his book could sell more copies.

Also Read: President Trump Announces Massive Tariff Hike on Chinese Goods Trump 245% tariffs on China

The NC chief dismissed Dulat's claims that the party would have "helped" pass the proposal to abrogate the special status of the erstwhile state had it been taken into confidence. He termed this a "figment of imagination" of the author.

"We were detained because our stand against the abrogation of special status was well-known," Abdullah told PTI.

Dulat is coming out with a new book on April 18, titled ‘The Chief Minister and the Spy’.

He pointed out that he always defended the former state's special status and added that he took those initiatives to combine all major political forces in Jammu and Kashmir and form the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), a coalition of political parties to do the same.

"A benchmark of common sense should have been adopted by the author while penning the so-called memoirs. He should have remembered that there was no assembly in 2018, which could have been dissolved," Abdullah said.

Abdullah insisted that even if the assembly had been in session, he would have never considered passing any resolution to that effect, abrogating Article 370.

"It is full of inaccuracies that, after a while, I thought I was reading fiction and left it," the NC President said.

Farooq Abdullah says AS Dulat’s book ‘full of inaccuracies’

Farooq Abdullah gave his judgment on the upcoming book, saying that it was full of inaccuracies.

"After a while, I thought I was reading fiction and left it," said the NC President. "It is full of inaccuracies."

Also Read: SC Affirms Linguistic Diversity, Allows Urdu on Patur Municipal Signboard Supreme Court Urdu signboard ruling

The former chief minister of India also commented on a specific bl-understanding in which AS Dulat claimed to have cautioned him against having an extensive cabinet in the year 1996, to say that he was "sworn in with 25 ministers," not a small number as suggested.

Abdullah rejected Dulat's descriptions of their relationship, especially the claim that he more often than not heeded the author's advice.

"The author claims that Abdullah would always listen to his advice, which is yet another example of underestimating me. I am a man of my mind, and I only decide. I am not anyone's puppet," he asserted.

On Dulat's claim that the NC wanted an a-closer association with the BJP, Abdullah strongly contradicted it.

"Dulat's claim that the National Conference wanted to get close to the BJP is an absolute lie as I am not the one who will patch up with a party that is out and out to destroy my party."

Abdullah expressed his disenchantment with Dulat's actions and stated that, because of his inaccuracies for mere cheap publicity, such abuses would remain for ever now.

Also Read: Supreme Court Flags Concerns Over Waqf Amendment Act, No Interim Order Yet