Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah has fiercely rejected claims by ex-R&AW chief Amarjit Singh Dulat that he had “privately backed” the abrogation of Article 370, describing them as a “cheap stunt” designed to boost sales of Dulat’s forthcoming memoir, The Chief Minister and the Spy, due for release on 18 April.
In response, the ex R&AW chief has claimed that he has been ‘misquoted’. “My book is full of praise for Farooq Abdullah, there is nothing against him,”, Dulat said.
Dulat’s Allegations and Abdullah’s Response
Dulat’s book alleges that Abdullah and his National Conference (NC) might have supported the removal of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status had they been consulted, and that the party would have helped pass a resolution in the assembly if taken into confidence.
Abdullah, now 87, dismissed these assertions as “fiction” and “a figment of the author’s imagination,” insisting that both he and his son Omar Abdullah were detained for months at the time of the abrogation in August 2019 precisely because their opposition to the move was well known.
No Assembly, No Resolution
Farooq Abdullah was scathing about the suggestion that the NC could have facilitated the passage of a resolution to revoke Article 370. He pointed out that there was no legislative assembly in 2018, as it had already been dissolved. “A benchmark of common sense should have been adopted by the author while penning the so-called memoirs”, the ex J&K CM said.
“He should have remembered that there was no assembly in 2018, which could have been dissolved,” Abdullah remarked.
Championing Special Status for Kashmir
Farooq Abdullah reiterated his consistent stance in defence of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. He highlighted his role in bringing together major political forces in the region to form the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), a coalition committed to restoring the state’s autonomy.
Abdullah emphasised that his record, including passing a resolution for greater autonomy when he held a two-thirds majority in 1996, contradicts Dulat’s claims.
On Relationship with Dulat and the BJP
Abdullah also refuted Dulat’s portrayal of their relationship, rejecting the notion that he was easily influenced by the former spy chief. “The author claims that Abdullah would always listen to his advice, which is yet another example of underestimating me. I am a man of my own mind, and I only decide. I am not anyone’s puppet,” he asserted.
He further dismissed suggestions that the NC sought closer ties with the BJP, calling it “an absolute lie” and reaffirming his unwillingness to associate with a party he accuses of seeking to “destroy” his own.
Disputing the Memoir’s Accuracy
Farooq Abdullah described Dulat’s memoir as riddled with inaccuracies, likening it to “fiction” and stating he abandoned reading it partway through. He also challenged specific claims, such as Dulat’s alleged advice on cabinet size in 1996, pointing out factual errors in the account.
“Wound That Lasts a Lifetime”
Expressing disappointment, Abdullah said Dulat’s actions had left a lasting wound: “The worst is that he claims to be my friend, and as has been said, ‘Stab the body and it heals, but injure the heart, and the wound lasts a lifetime.’ I guess his inaccuracies just for cheap publicity would last a lifetime now”.
‘My Book is Full of Praise’
Amid a political storm in Jammu and Kashmir over some mentions concerning Farooq Abdullah in his new book ‘The Chief Minister and the Spy’, former RAW Chief Amarjit Singh Dulat has said that the “book is full of praise” for the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and has “nothing against him”.
Dulat, a former IPS officer, who served both the Intelligence Bureau and RAW and has long experience of working in and on Kashmir, said the book is an appreciation and not a critique of the former Chief Minister.
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