NC leaders slam Azad for claiming Abdullahs were consulted before abrogation of Article 370
Srinagar, Feb 19: The National Conference hit out at former Jammu and Kashmir chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday for his comments that NC chief Farooq Abdullah and his son, Omar Abdullah, were consulted before the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, saying he has "stooped so low" by making "baseless and senseless allegations".
Farooq Abdullah, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar, said it was a sad day to see "Azad stooping so low in his political utterances only to remain in the political circuit. A leader like him should not be circulating what he himself has termed gossip".
The veteran leader, who has been the chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir thrice, reminded Azad about the support he got from the NC to win his Rajya Sabha seat in 2015.
Azad gave an interview to a private television channel and claimed that NC leaders seek time with leaders in Delhi after 11 pm, which raises suspicion in the minds of people.
He also said there was a gossip in Delhi in 2019 that the Abdullahs had prior information that the provisions of Article 370 would be abrogated and that they were detained in accordance with their own wish.
Azad also accused Farooq Abdullah of playing the religion card to woo Hindu votes by visiting temples and singing "bhajans".
The interview was aired on Monday.
Farooq Abdullah asserted that the NC has stood and will always stand for secularism and said it was time Azad explained the real reason for breaking away from the Congress and forming his own party in Jammu and Kashmir.
"He has to clarify actually which side of the fence he was on. He has been enjoying every perk even after ceasing to be a member of the Rajya Sabha. The question is, how?" the NC leader asked.
The former Union minister said he, along with several other leaders, held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the Centre's August 5, 2019 decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
"Whatever we have to do, we do it in broad daylight. Why should one ask for time at night...?" Abdullah asked and described Azad's statement as childish and laughable.
Taking to X, former Jammu and Kashmir chief Minister Omar Abdullah said: "Wah bhai wah Ghulam Nabi Azad, so much bile today. Where is the Ghulam that was begging us for Rajya Sabha seats in J&K as recently as 2015?
"'Abdullahs knew about 370' yet we were detained for more than 8 months including under PSA and you were free, the only ex CM in J&K free after 5th Aug," he said in a post on X.
The NC vice-president chided the former Congress leader, pointing out that his father, Farooq Abdullah, was evacuated from a government bungalow when he was not an MP.
"'Abdullahs meet secretly' yet my father is the one thrown out of his government house when he wasn't MP and you are allowed to keep your ministerial bungalow?
"'Abdullahs say one thing in Kashmir and another in Delhi' yet PM cries for you in Rajya Sabha and criticises us in every speech. Let's not forget the Padma award for which you agreed to leave Congress and help BJP in Chenab valley. Who is azad and who is ghulam, time will tell and people will decide," he said.
Reacting to Omar Abdullah's post on X and taking a jibe at Azad, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said: "Did you seriously expect anything else from him? He is an absolute disgrace -- actually, always has been!"
On August 5, 2019, the BJP-led Centre abrogated the provisions of Article 370, which gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the erstwhile state into the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Wah bhai wah Ghulam Nabi Azad, so much bile today. Where is the Ghulam that was begging us for Rajya Sabha seats in J&K as recently as 2015? “Abdullahs knew about 370” yet we were detained for more than 8 months including under PSA & you were free, the only ex CM in J&K free… https://t.co/WAbK6hGB4F
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 19, 2024
Did you seriously expect anything else from him? He is an absolute disgrace — actually, always has been! https://t.co/tdj1q0sY7l
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) February 19, 2024
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
