Jammu:
A Sushma Swaraj statement in faraway Gujarat has sparked a slugfest in picturesque Jammu and Kashmir. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti are engaged in a war of words over the BJP leader's claim that Ms Mufti had spoken in favour of Narendra Modi at a recent meeting.
Ms Swaraj, while endorsing Brand Modi at the end of the Gujarat Chief Minister's three-day fast in Ahmedabad yesterday, recounted an incident which she said happened at a National Integration Council meeting in Delhi. "Mehbooba Mufti, the leader of the PDP, a party opposed to the BJP, said that a Muslim friend of hers wanted to invest in Gujarat and was astonished to be quickly granted an appointment. And when he did meet Mr Modi, had a decision in half an hour." She added, "You can accuse an Advani or a Sushma of bias when they praise Modi. But this was Mehbooba Mufti."
Who me? Ms Mufti seemed to ask as she stoutly denied she ever said that. "It is baseless and unfortunate that the Leader of the Opposition has chosen to misquote me unnecessarily for their own reason. I appeal to the Government of India that they should release the full text of my speech so that we can put the records straight," the PDP leader said.
Barely had she denied it that her bete noir Omar Abdullah pounced on the political opportunity. As he often does, he tweeted his view. "I'm not surprised Mehbooba praised Modi, she can praise who ever she likes; I am surprised she'd deny it knowing others heard her speech," he said on the micro-blogging site, Twitter.
Ms Mufti shot back, "As far as Omar's tweet goes, he should recall that he was a minister at one point in time and he did not offer to resign in protest and his father was the only Muslim leader who stood by Narendra Modi at that time." Ms Mufti was alluding to the National Conference having been a part of the BJP-led NDA government of 2002 when the Gujarat riots took place. Omar Abdullah was minister of state for external affairs in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government then.
Those were difficult days for the Abdullahs and in a blitz of tweets, the J&K Chief Minister retorted: "Have never denied being a part of the NDA Ms Mufti but I've also said it was a mistake I regret & will never repeat nor let my party repeat."
A minute later, he tweeted: "At least I've had the guts to admit our mistake, why don't you have the guts to admit what everyone heard you say - your praise for Modi."
And four minutes after that, "Lest I forget Ms. Mufti - the record in parliament will show how I voted on the resolution abt Gujarat riots even though I was a minister. (sic)"
And the person whose words began it all is sticking to her guns. Sushma Swaraj tweeted on Tuesday afternoon, "I correctly quoted Ms. Mehbooba Mufti in Ahmedabad yesterday...It was not a private conversation...I only quoted what she spoke in the presence of over a hundred people in the afternoon session of the NIC meeting on 10th September."
The ball is in Mehbooba Mufti's court.
Ms Swaraj, while endorsing Brand Modi at the end of the Gujarat Chief Minister's three-day fast in Ahmedabad yesterday, recounted an incident which she said happened at a National Integration Council meeting in Delhi. "Mehbooba Mufti, the leader of the PDP, a party opposed to the BJP, said that a Muslim friend of hers wanted to invest in Gujarat and was astonished to be quickly granted an appointment. And when he did meet Mr Modi, had a decision in half an hour." She added, "You can accuse an Advani or a Sushma of bias when they praise Modi. But this was Mehbooba Mufti."
Who me? Ms Mufti seemed to ask as she stoutly denied she ever said that. "It is baseless and unfortunate that the Leader of the Opposition has chosen to misquote me unnecessarily for their own reason. I appeal to the Government of India that they should release the full text of my speech so that we can put the records straight," the PDP leader said.
Barely had she denied it that her bete noir Omar Abdullah pounced on the political opportunity. As he often does, he tweeted his view. "I'm not surprised Mehbooba praised Modi, she can praise who ever she likes; I am surprised she'd deny it knowing others heard her speech," he said on the micro-blogging site, Twitter.
Ms Mufti shot back, "As far as Omar's tweet goes, he should recall that he was a minister at one point in time and he did not offer to resign in protest and his father was the only Muslim leader who stood by Narendra Modi at that time." Ms Mufti was alluding to the National Conference having been a part of the BJP-led NDA government of 2002 when the Gujarat riots took place. Omar Abdullah was minister of state for external affairs in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government then.
Those were difficult days for the Abdullahs and in a blitz of tweets, the J&K Chief Minister retorted: "Have never denied being a part of the NDA Ms Mufti but I've also said it was a mistake I regret & will never repeat nor let my party repeat."
A minute later, he tweeted: "At least I've had the guts to admit our mistake, why don't you have the guts to admit what everyone heard you say - your praise for Modi."
And four minutes after that, "Lest I forget Ms. Mufti - the record in parliament will show how I voted on the resolution abt Gujarat riots even though I was a minister. (sic)"
And the person whose words began it all is sticking to her guns. Sushma Swaraj tweeted on Tuesday afternoon, "I correctly quoted Ms. Mehbooba Mufti in Ahmedabad yesterday...It was not a private conversation...I only quoted what she spoke in the presence of over a hundred people in the afternoon session of the NIC meeting on 10th September."
The ball is in Mehbooba Mufti's court.
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