Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) President Farooq Abdullah was heckled during Eid prayers at a shrine on Wednesday, 22 August.
The hecklers were allegedly attacking him for chanting “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Jai Hind” during the prayer meet of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during the all-party prayer meeting on 20 August.
Even before the imam leading the congregational prayers could begin the Eid sermon at the Hazratbal shrine, Abdullah was heckled amid sloganeering. Dozens of youth also hurled shoes and disrupted the congregation forcing the former leader to leave the prayer ground, reported IANS.
Speaking to ANI, Abdullah said that he was not one to get “scared easily.”
(Main darne wala nahi hun. Agar yeh samajhte hai ki isse azadi aayegi toh mein inko kehna chahta hun ki pehle begaari, beemari aur bhookmari se azadi pao.) I am not one to scare easy. If these protestors think that they will attain ‘freedom’ by such a thing, then I want to tell them, first get ‘freedom’ from illness and hunger.Farooq Abdullah, Former J&K CM
He also said that the time had come for India and Pakistan to have a peaceful dialogue.
Today, the time has come for India and Pakistan to have a peaceful dialogue. There is a need to get rid of hatred. This country belongs to Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians and all those who live here.Farooq Abdullah, Former J&K CM
The festival of Eid saw Kashmir Valley on edge, with the news of multiple deaths, including that of a police officer, and violent clashes breaking out between security forces and protesters in the capital of Srinagar. A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activist was abducted and killed by militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said.
(With inputs from IANS, ANI)
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