Omar Abdullah hints at Alam-Mufti ‘deal’, riles up Rashid
Omar Abdullah
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday said that Hurriyat leader Masarat Alam’s release may have been a result of a “deal with Mufti Sayeed”, prompting Independent legislator Engineer Rashid to hit back.
Omar said on Twitter, “So either Alam has turned a leaf and done a deal with Mufti Sayeed or he will go back to organising trouble in Valley.”
So either Alam has turned a new leaf & done a deal with Mufti Syed or he will go back to organising trouble in he valley. Time will tell 4/n
— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) March 7, 2015
Rashid reacted, saying that “Masarat is not Sheikh Abdullah”.
“Omar Abdullah should tender an apology for accusing Masarat Alam of entering into a deal,” Rashid said. “(He) must know that everybody can’t be Sheikh Abdullah…”
The Independent legislator was referring to a pact between Omar’s grandfather Sheikh Abdullah and the then prime minister Indira Gandhi — a pact known as the Indira-Sheikh accord — for his release in 1975.
Rashid also ridiculed Omar for using Alam’s release as a “point scoring opportunity over PDP to please his master in Delhi”. He also questioned why Omar had not released Alam when he was CM.
Omar Abdullah responded, “Yes, my government detained Masarat Alam and we kept him out of circulation.”
Detention is not ideal but difficult situations have to be tackled. Whichever way I look at it, Alam’s detention saved lives and allowed a smoother, safer pair of elections. So I have no regrets at all”.
Source:: Indian Express