National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah Wednesday said that failure of the Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti to do ‘chowkidari’ (gatekeeping) forced the youth in Kashmir to pick up arms.
Dejected by the thin attendance of people in her electionmeetings in southern Kashmir, Mehbooba Monday told her workers in Bijbehara andPahalgam that she did ‘chowkidari’ for them and saved them from the “wrath ofsecurity forces and Ikhwan in the mid and late nineties”.
She had also expressed dismay over what she termed dampenedspirit of her workers and asked them to rise to the occasion and do vigorouscampaigning to ensure her victory in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
Omar, speaking to media persons after addressing an electionrally in Shangus area, slammed Mehbooba.
“If she had done her job of chowkidar well, we would nothave been witnessing this situation in J&K right now. Today you yourselfadmit that your worker is depressed, dispirited and helpless. The reason isthat in the last four-and-a-half years you have failed to do chowkidari of thisstate just as Narendra Modi has in the country,” said Omar.
“If youth are picking up arms again, it is because of thefailure of your chowkidari. If thetourism is in tatters it is because of failure of your chowkidari and if todaypeople are unhappy with you, it is because of failure of your chowkidari,” Omarsaid.
“Had she been a good chowkidar, Insha of Sedow, Shopianwould not have been blinded with pellets.”
Omar said that people of southern Kashmir, from Shopian,Pulwama, Kulgam, and Anantnag, would give a befitting reply to Mehbooba in theupcoming parliament elections.
Omar had yesterday tweeted that that chowkidari was not thebest word under the current circumstances, apparently referring to BJP’s ‘MainBhi Chowkidar’ campaign launched after Rahul Gandhi’s remark “chowkidar chorhai (gatekeeper is the thief)”.
Omar appealed to the people to make NC candidate HasnainMasoodi successful to protect Articles 370 and 35A in the Parliament.