Nothing wrong in Farooq Abdullah’s remarks on Poonch attack: JKPCC chief

Jammu: There was nothing wrong in the remarks of National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on the recent terror attack on an Army vehicle in Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Vikar Rasool Wani said on Monday.

He also said former J-K governor Satya Pal Malik’s recent disclosures, especially with regard to the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, exposed the BJP’s “fake nationalism” and demanded an inquiry.

“I don’t think Farooq (Abdullah) Sahib has said anything wrong. The casualties of the security forces are the outcome of security lapse. First it was said that lightning struck the (Army) vehicle (in Poonch) and later it was confirmed that a militant attack had taken place,” Wani told reporters at the party headquarters here.

He was responding to a question about BJP’s criticism of Abdullah over his statement that top security officials should look into the lapses that led to the killing of five soldiers in the terrorist attack.

"The area (where the attack took place) is closer to the border. There must be a security issue which they need to check. There has been a mistake somewhere, they should look into it…They have started operations in Pooch and should not harass or arrest innocent people," Abdullah had said.

The BJP reacted angrily to Abdullah’s statement with its senior leader and former deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta saying that “Abdullah accused investigation agencies of harassing common people in the name of the Poonch terror attack probe. He should not mislead the people and rather ask them to join the probe to punish the culprits as soon as possible.” Wani said after Malik’s recent sensational disclosures on Pulwama terror attack that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel in February 2019, people are thinking who was behind the deadly incident which might have been done for election benefit.

"There should be an inquiry to make things clear," the J-K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president said, ruing the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the matter.

Wani said the Congress condemned the Poonch attack in strongest terms. "We lost five soldiers...I am living in Banihal along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway and if we stop conducting searches or road opening patrol duties, anything can happen.” “When tight security protection is in place, many attempts by terrorists to carry out blasts on the highway were thwarted with timely detections of explosive devices. So when there is information about movement (of terrorists), it is the duty of the government to ensure security,” he added.

Wani also said the Gandhi-Nehru family was the worst victim of terrorism with two former prime ministers, Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi, losing their lives to the menace, while hundreds of Congress, National Conference and PDP workers were killed by terrorists in J-K over the past three decades.

“If they (BJP) blame us for terrorism, it is their frustration. We have faced terrorism and will continue our fight against it,” he said.

The Congress leader accused the BJP of deceiving people in the name of nationalism over the past nine years and said Malik’s disclosures about the Pulwama terror attack exposed the "fake nationalism" of the saffron party.

"He (Malik) is telling the truth and people now understand the BJP very well. The day is not far when the Congress will emerge strong once again across the country. We will sweep upcoming assembly elections in Karnataka and will also emerge number one in J-K," he said.

Meanwhile, District Development Council (DDC) member, Kulgam, Anayatullah Rather returned to the Congress fold after leaving the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) led by Ghulam Nabi Azad.

“Rather, a former general secretary of JKPCC, had joined Azad as a founding member of his new party under his influence. All of those who have joined him are returning because they have secular ideology,” Wani said.

He alleged that the DPAP is internally linked to the BJP, asserting it was quite evident when Azad recently showered praises on Modi and opposed Rahul Gandhi at the behest of the RSS and the BJP.