PM Modi vs Omar Abdullah Over "Separate PM For Jammu and Kashmir"

PM Modi vs Omar Abdullah Over "Separate PM For Jammu and Kashmir"

-He says we will take the clock back and replicate the situation before 1953 and there will be two Prime Ministers," PM Modi said without naming Omar Abdullah.

Story Highlights

• Omar Abdullah calls for restoration of terms of J&K's accession in 1947
• PM Modi attacks him, Congress for the demand
• BJP wants Article 35A, which gives the state its special status, scrapped

New Delhi: 

National Conference 

leader Omar Abdullah's comment - that Jammu and Kashmir would one day have a separate Prime Minister and President - drew a furious response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who demanded during an election meeting on Monday that the Congress explain its ally's comment. The Congress is contesting the Lok Sabha polls for the seven seats of Jammu and Kashmir in alliance with the National Conference. While the party did not respond, the back and forth - with Mr Abdullah responding on Twitter - continued through the evening.

Without naming Mr Abdullah, the Prime Minister said, "He says we will take the clock back and replicate the situation before 1953 and there will be two Prime Ministers in India, Kashmir will have its separate PM".

The Congress "must answer how its ally can say such a thing," the Prime Minister said at a rally in Hyderabad.

Earlier in the day, at an election rally in south Kashmir's Bandipore, Mr Abdullah said those threatening to scrap Article 35A should know that Jammu and Kashmir would get back its posts of Prime Minister and "Sadr e Reyasat".

Unlike other states, Jammu and Kashmir had negotiated the terms and conditions of its accession with Union of India - that it would have its own "identity and constitution". If Article 35 is tinkered with, India has to renegotiate the accession, he had said.

After the Prime Minister's comments, Mr Abdullah tweeted: