To Farooq Abdullah's 'jump into the sea', Jaitley says, 'take a dip in Dal lake'

New Delhi: Union minister Farooq Abdullah said those who vote for Narendra Modi should jump in the sea. Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley has said that the senior Kashmir politician should "take a dip in the Dal Lake".

Mr Jaitley today said the single greatest failure of secularism in India was within Farooq Abdullah's own state. He was hitting back at the National Conference chief for saying that a BJP regime would turn India communal and Kashmir would not be a part of such an India. (Read: Narendra Modi wants to eliminate Muslims, claims Farooq Abdullah)

"I don't see any reason why he should have gone to such an extreme sense and make such a statement. He is a senior politician...to say that India will turn communal, what will Kashmir do? I think he must seriously introspect," Mr Jaitley said. (Elections: Full coverage)

"The largest single failure of secularism in India is when one community is asked to leave a state. And that's what has happened in (Farooq Abdullah's) state. So it would be better if he put all his energies and intention back in getting the Kashmiri pandits back to the valley rather than preach secularism to the rest of India."

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The senior BJP leader, who is contesting his first election from Amritsar in Punjab, said in a blog post today, "If India witnessed ethnic cleansing, it is only in Kashmir. Farooq & his party as a gesture of repentance should at least take a dip in Dal lake."

On Sunday, Farooq Abdullah targeted Mr Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, saying, "A party member of his says those who don't vote for Modi should go to Pak, those who vote for Modi should jump in the sea." (Read: Those who vote for Modi should jump into the sea, says Farooq Abdullah)

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This comes days after his son Omar Abdullah, who is the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said he would continue criticizing Mr Modi even if he had to go to Pakistan.