In an apparent reference to recent speculations on an “advisory council to be formed on June 2 in J&K”, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Tuesday termed it as “one of the numerous cases of fake news which he had come across in the recent past”.
Omar’s comments came after speculations were rife last week that an advisory council led by JK Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari shall be formed in J&K and it shall take oath on June 2.
However, the National Conference vice-president while taking to Twitter said it was a case of “fake news” and expressed dismay saying “journalists were reproducing what was being planted by sources in the form of reports and Tweets as a gospel truth”.
“What happened to the grand oath taking that we were promised would happen in Jammu today? “Sources” plant, journalists happily reproduce as though the gospel truth & when it doesn’t happen all of them hope we’ve forgotten what was tweeted/reported. #FakeNews,” Omar wrote in a Tweet.
Omar recalled several instances of “fake news” involving him during the period of his detention at the Hari Niwas after August, 2019. One of them being the rumours of his fight with People’s Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti while being in detention.
In another tweet, Omar said he could “write a small book” on “fake news planted and happily reproduced”.
“I could write a small book on the fake news planted & happily reproduced while I was detained in Hari Niwas starting with the fight I’m supposed to have had with @MehboobaMufti , the flight to Delhi we were supposed to have been taken on and so on & so forth. #FakeNews,” wrote Omar on Twitter.
Omar’s comments come on a day which was touted by many to witness an oath taking ceremony of an Advisory Council led by former finance minister and JK Apni Party president Syed Muhammad Altaf Bukhari.
Bukhari had already rubbished the speculations around saying “it was a joke”.
However, the news about him and several of his party leaders to be a part of the council had become viral on social media for several days. It was being said that the oath taking ceremony would be held at the Raj Bhawan in Jammu on Tuesday and that formation of the advisory council “was a revolutionary step which will help revive political activity in Jammu and Kashmir.”
However, all such reports have proved to be incorrect so far as there was no such ceremony on Tuesday.