Impose Governor’s Rule If J&K Is to Be Saved: Farooq Abdullah

Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah calls for the immediate imposition of Governor’s rule in the state.

Farooq Abdullah advocates immediate Governor rule in Kashmir. (Photo: PTI)

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah on Sunday called for the immediate imposition of Governor's rule in the state, stressing that it was the only way to control communal tension in the country.

We have never been promoters of Governor’s rule, we have always opposed it. But there is no other way.

Farooq Abdullah

The National Conference chief, who was recently called to New Delhi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a discussion on Kashmir, said Modi wanted a "peaceful end" to the situation in the state, reeling under unrest for months. He said:

I can’t tell you what I discussed with the Prime Minister. All I can say is that he is concerned about the situation in the state and wants to an end to it. A peaceful end to it.

The former chief minister, accusing the Mehbooba Mufti government of "failing on all fronts", said not just south Kashmir, the entire Valley was in the grip of "tragedies".

These tragedies are adding to communal tension in the rest of the nation. So the quicker we settle this problem, (the quicker) would we be able to control the fire which is coming to a boiling stage. 

Stressing that the CM should have resigned on the day the Centre gave in writing to the Supreme Court that it would not talk to separatists. Mehbooba Mufti had repeatedly asked for talks with "all stakeholders" in Kashmir, he said:

It completely baffles me because the PDP-BJP’s agenda says they will talk to all. So if that agenda is gone, what is Madam Mufti doing on the chair? Should she not say goodbye and walk out if she has any honour left?

Asked why there was no end to Kashmir's unrest, he said the militancy of the nineties was different from that now. He said:

Today the movement is different, because of the false promise of PDP leader Mufti Mohammed Sayed when he went for the elections with the promise to keep BJP and the RSS out. Unfortunately, at the end of the day he brought in the very people he had promised to keep away. Part of this struggle is because of that ‘vishwasghat’ (betrayal) – the trust that you betrayed – has raised its head. 

Governer’s rule is the only way out if Kashmir was to be saved; he said:

The only way forward today, if they want to save the state and its future with the nation, is to bring in Governor’s rule so that the functioning of the government can be impartial and steps are taken to win the hearts and minds of the people.

He feels that that in the two months of Governor's rule in January last year, Kashmiris had seen "good" governance. He said:

It was during the short period of governor’s rule that flood relief money was disbursed to the poorest of the poor without any political favours.

He believes that the separatists and stone pelters were a part of Kashmir and couldn’t be ignored. Abdullah reiterated that the state's troubles would disappear once Governor's rule was announced.