Srinagar, Nov 2 (IANS) Ruling National Conference leader Mustafa Kamal Wednesday denied saying that the Indian government was ‘hurling grenades in Kashmir’ and that the state’s accession to India was ‘temporary’.
Amid a political storm in Jammu and Kashmir, Kamal told IANS that he did not even mention New Delhi in a Monday speech at Ganderbal near the state capital Srinagar where he is said to have made the controversial remarks.
‘I have been quoted out of context. All I said was that while (hardline Hurriyat leader) Syed Ali Shah Geelani has been blamed for inciting youth to pelt stones, there are forces against the revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) who could be behind hurling of grenades in recent days,’ Kamal said in an interview.
Local newspapers Wednesday quoted Kamal, who is also the uncle of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, as saying: ‘If Geelani is blamed for hurling stones, New Delhi is hurling grenades in Kashmir’.
Kamal was also said to have alleged that Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to India was ‘temporary’.
The remarks have embarrassed the chief minister as Kamal is also the National Conference spokesman.
Speaking to IANS, Kamal said: ‘I did not mention New Delhi anywhere in my speech at Ganderbal which was misquoted by a section of the media and also some electronic news channels.
‘After all, grenade attacks have occurred in the valley after a considerable lull and these attacks occurred when there is talk of the controversial AFSPA to be revoked in some parts of the state.
‘The perpetrators of the these attacks could be separatists or they could also be the (main opposition party) PDP, which would be the last to allow the credit for AFSPA’s revocation to be taken by Omar Abdullah,’ he said.
He noted that he had spoken to party workers in Ganderbal in Urdu and English and wondered ‘how the report quoted me as saying that the accession of the state to India was temporary’.
‘I said in Urdu that the accession to India is ‘mashroot’, which means it is conditional. I never used the word ‘temporary’.
‘Conditional accession means the accession is subject to Article 370, it is subject to the agreement of 1952 between Delhi and Srinagar and also to the promises and guarantees made to the people of the state,’ he said.
And Kamal denied commenting on leaders of the Congress, which is part of the National Conference government. Relations between the two parties have hit a new low in recent times.
‘The Congress should stop seeing an enemy in me. I am nobody’s enemy and there is no reason the Congress should see me as an enemy. They are our coalition partner and they must behave responsibly,’ Kamal said.
Kamal denied blaming the Indian Army for the recent grenade attacks in Srinagar.
‘All I said was that there is a public perception that the army does not want AFSPA revoked and because of this the finger of suspicion was pointed at the army.
‘I never accused the army of grenade attacks. How could I accuse the army without proof? The police is investigating the matter, and it would not be long before those responsible for these attacks are exposed.’
(Sheikh Qayoom can be contacted at sheikh.abdul@ians.in)
