People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday responded to former RAW chief Amarjit Singh Dulat's recent book, 'The Chief Minister and the Spy,' which discusses Farooq Abdullah's stance on Article 370. Mufti said that she was not surprised by the revelations, emphasising that the National Conference (NC) has historically shifted its positions based on the pursuit of power. "I am not surprised after reading that, as it has been the National Conference's stance that they can do anything for power. It has been going on since 1947 - at times, they wanted to come with India, given that they were in power; if not, they wanted to have a discussion," Mufti said while speaking to ANI.
She further pointed out," He (Sheikh Abdullah) was in jail for 22 years along with the people, but when they came to power, the discussion ended. How rigging was done in 1987 for the Chair, and that resulted in guns coming to the valley, and it took lakhs of our young lives... When PDP and BJP were in talks, Omar Abdullah went to Delhi many times and offered them unconditional support." Mufti questioned the intent behind Dulat's revelations, suggesting that they were not aimed at creating issues for Farooq Abdullah, but were instead designed to signal Delhi that Abdullah was ready to align with them. "Amarjit Singh Dulat is very close to Farooq Abdullah, and today, the secret that he is revealing is not to create a problem for Farooq Abdullah but to help him. He is giving a signal to Delhi that Farooq Abdullah is ready to go to any extent with you; you should trust him," she said.
However, she added that such attempts were unlikely to find traction in the national capital. "But, the people in Delhi don't trust Farooq Abdullah as they have seen the character of the National Conference - it has no credibility. When in need, they betray Jammu & Kashmir; when in need, they betray Delhi..." Earlier, in response to the controversy surrounding his new book, former RAW Chief Amarjit Singh Daulat dismissed claims that Farooq Abdullah supported the abrogation of Article 370. Dulat stressed that Abdullah was deeply pained by the move and had never been taken into confidence by the Centre. Dulat is a former IPS officer who served both the Intelligence Bureau and RAW and has long experience working in Kashmir. The former RAW Chief recalled that when Article 370 was abrogated, Dr Sahab (Farooq Abdullah) was heartbroken over what had happened to them.
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The former RAW Chief asserted that his book is an appreciation of Farooq Abdullah, not a critique."If someone is saying that I've pulled a cheap stunt to sell my book, that's fine. I have no objection," he said. Praising the former J-K Chief Minister, AS Dulat said, "There is no leader in Kashmir who is even half the stature of Farooq Sahab, nor is there a bigger nationalist than him. "This government formed by the National Conference -- nothing could be more positive for Kashmir. And it came into power with a thumping majority. It is only the National Conference that can take Kashmir forward. This is the family that will lead it ahead. Other parties also have a role to play," the former RAW Chief said.