New Delhi: Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah Monday hit out at Congress’s Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel for implying that his release from detention was due to ‘rebel’ Congress leader Sachin Pilot’s interference.
“I am fed up of the downright malicious and false allegation that what Sachin Pilot is doing is somehow linked to my or my father’s release from detention earlier this year,” Abdullah said in a tweet.
I am fed up of the downright malicious and false allegation that what Sachin Pilot is doing is somehow linked to my or my father’s release from detention earlier this year. Enough is enough. Mr @bhupeshbaghel will be hearing from my lawyers. Cc @RahulGandhi @INCIndia @rssurjewala https://t.co/Gojb7vN1V3
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 20, 2020
Abdullah, who is the leader of the National Conference (NC), said that Baghel will be hearing from his lawyer on the matter.
In an interview to The Hindu published Monday, the Chhattisgarh CM raised questions over why only Abdullah was released from detention, and not politicians from other parties.
“He and Mehbooba Mufti ji were booked under the same sections of the law. While she is still languishing, he is out. Is it because Mr Abdullah is brother-in-law of Sachin Pilot,” Baghel had asked.
Responding to Abdullah, Baghel, however, tweeted that it was “only a question asked”, and that he shouldn’t turn “the tragic demise of democracy into an opportune moment”.
Also read: What Omar Abdullah’s release means for Kashmir, PDP rebels and Mehbooba Mufti
NC’s official statement over Baghel’s remark
In an official statement, the NC criticised Baghel’s remark as being “convenient for political posturing”.
“It is within the province of public knowledge that the release of Mr Omar Abdullah happened after judicial intervention was sought from the Supreme Court and the illegal order of detention of Mr Abdullah was challenged,” the statement read.
Abdullah was released in March this year after 8 months of political detention. He was among several J&K leaders who were detained after the Modi government had scrapped Article 370 last August.
The statement further said: “We have taken cognisance of the libelous statement of Mr Baghel and we are presently in the process of consulting our lawyers and shall be initiating appropriate legal action against the aforesaid statement.”
Baghel, meanwhile, tweeted that he just asked a question and “and we will keep asking it, as will the country”.
“Please do not try to turn this tragic demise of democracy into an opportune moment @OmarAbdullah ji. The ‘allegation’ was only a question asked, and we will keep asking it, as will the country,” he wrote.
Please do not try to turn this tragic demise of democracy into an opportune moment @OmarAbdullah ji.
The 'allegation' was only a question asked, and we will keep asking it, as will the country. https://t.co/VCavNt1BXM
— Bhupesh Baghel (@bhupeshbaghel) July 20, 2020
To this, Abdullah said the Congress doesn’t know its friends from its opponents, and that Baghel’s statement “won’t go uncontested”.
“You can send your answer to my lawyers. This is what is wrong with the @INCIndia today, you don’t know your friends from your opponents. This is why you people are in the mess you are in. Your ‘question’ was malicious & will not go uncontested.
You can send your answer to my lawyers. This is what is wrong with the @INCIndia today, you don’t know your friends from your opponents. This is why you people are in the mess you are in. Your “question” was malicious & will not go uncontested. https://t.co/abgijaSDyW
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 20, 2020
Abdulla’s detention and release
Abdullah was detained on 5 August under Section 107 of CrPC (security for keeping the peace), and after he had served the maximum period of detention, he was booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) on 5 February.
Abdullah’s sister, Sara Abdullah Pilot, who is married to Sachin Pilot, had subsequently challenged the PSA charge in the Supreme Court.
A two-judge bench of the top court had asked the government for an explanation on Abdullah’s detention, and later, also cautioned the dispensation that it would take up the petition on merits on the next date of hearing if the state did not release him.
While his father, Farooq Abdullah, was released a few days before him, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti continues to be in detention. In May, Mufti’s detention was extended by three more months.
Also read: ‘Exercise, exercise, exercise’ — out-of-detention Omar Abdullah’s guide to self-isolation
Actually what Shri Omar Abdullah, the 3rd generation dynast, is saying is correct. Congress does not know its friends from its foes.