New Delhi: Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday expressed disappointment over the Supreme Court's order upholding the abrogation of Article 370. He accused the government of betraying the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
"Let Jammu and Kashmir go to hell...They betrayed people. They want to win people's hearts. How'd you win that if you'd do such things to push people farther away?" he told ANI, reacting to the verdict.
The National Conference leader further stated that former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was not responsible for Article 370, reported PTI.
His response came after Home Minister Amit Shah in Parliament blamed Nehru for the Kashmir problem, pointing to the "mistakes" of ordering an "untimely" ceasefire and taking the issue to the United Nations.
Abdullah told reporters, "I don't know why they have venom against Nehru. Nehru is not responsible. When Article (370) came, Sardar Patel was there. Nehru was in America when the Cabinet meeting happened. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee was also present when the decision was made," as reported by PTI.
Meanwhile, in a significant victory for the Modi government, the Supreme Court on Monday unanimously upheld the 2019 revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir even as it ordered assembly elections there by September-end and restoration of statehood "at the earliest".
"The matter was in their hands from the beginning. Let's see what happens in the future," Abdullah said.
When asked if the abrogation had ushered development in the erstwhile state, he said, "Go there and see for yourself".
"We want elections to be held. We were hoping that if the Supreme Court will remove (Article) 370, they will also ask for elections to be held immediately. They gave time till September, what is the point? On statehood they said they'll talk about it later. Where is justice?" he added.
Responding to India's claim on Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir, he said, "This decision has to be taken by the government. We have never stopped anyone... We are nothing."