Gautam Gambhir recently won Lok Sabha polls from east Delhi (File)
Highlights
- Gautam Gambhir called Mehbooba Mufti "ridiculously naive"
- The fresh onslaught was in response to her tweet
- Mehbooba Mufti had attacked Home Minister Amit Shah on Twitter
Gautam Gambhir, BJP's newly elected parliamentarian, called his Twitter nemesis, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, "ridiculously naive". The fresh onslaught was in response to her tweet in which she attacked Home Minister Amit Shah as she backed a political solution to the Kashmir issue.
"While I am all for a talk-based solution to Kashmir problem but for Mehbooba Mufti to term Amit Shah's process as 'brute' is 'ridiculously naive'. History has been witness to our patience and endurance. But if oppression ensures security for my people, then so be it," Mr Gambhir tweeted.
Ms Mufti, a former ally of the BJP, on Monday called for a political solution of the Kashmir issue by involving all "stakeholders".
"Since 1947, Kashmir's been looked through the prism of security by successive governments. It's a political problem that needs a political redressal by involving all stakeholders including Pakistan. Expecting a quick fix through brute force by newly appointed HM (Home Minister Amit Shah) is ridiculously naive," she said.
The previous government had taken a tough stance on the Kashmir issue as it refused to hold talks with the separatists. After the Pulwama terror attack in which over 40 soldiers were killed, the government scaled down the protection of a number of separatists.
India has maintained that dialogue with Pakistan is not possible until it stops providing shelter to terrorists on its soil. The mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and the chief of terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed are living in Pakistan.
Mr Gambhir, known for his fierce views on Kashmir and Pakistan, has had run-in's with Ms Mufti on Twitter in the past. A heated exchange between the two leaders in April this year prompted Ms Mufti to block Mr Gambhir on the website.
The altercation had begun after the Delhi High Court admitted a public interest litigation seeking a direction to the Election Commission for banning Jammu and Kashmir politicians Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti from the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
"Why waste time in court? Wait for the BJP to scrap Article 370. It will automatically debar us from fighting elections since the Indian constitution won't be applicable to Jammu and Kashmir anymore," she tweeted in response, adding: "Na samjhogay tho mit jaoge, aye Hindustan walo. Tumhari dastaan tak bhi na hogi dastaano mein (O people of India, you will be erased if you do not understand. Even your tales won't be written in history)".
An incensed Gautam Gambhir had responded by saying that this was India she was talking about, not a "blot like you that can be erased".
As the altercation had taken a turn for the worse, personal insults were being traded between the two leaders. Ms Mufti had rested her case by questioning Mr Gambhir's knowledge on Kashmir and blocking him.
Mr Gambhir's party scored a landslide win in the Lok Sabha elections, winning 303 out of the 542 seats. Amit Shah, who was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time, has been appointed as the Home Minister.