How many mistakes will wake you up, Farooq asks Centre

Lacing his Independence Day speech with sarcasm, emotion and drama, Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah launched a scathing attack against all &#...

Lacing his Independence Day speech with sarcasm, emotion and drama, Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah launched a scathing attack against all — the Centre, Pakistan and his local adversaries. Referring to Vajpayee’s address earlier in the day, he said: ‘‘Today you tell us you have made mistakes. 1953 (when Sheikh Abdullah’s government was toppled) was Delhi’s mistake. 1984 (when his government was toppled) was Delhi’s mistake. Tell me after how many more mistakes will you wake up?

‘‘Why this cacophony for free and fair polls. Those Congress well-wishers who used to rig the polls are still alive and now they are crying hoarse over imposition of Governor’s rule,’’ said Abdullah, adding, ‘‘We are not slaves. We are part of an independent country called India.”

Lashing out at the Centre, he asked: ‘‘Where were these well-wishers from Delhi six years back… They would come at midnight in an IAF plane and unfurl the tricolour at Lal Chowk,’’ he said, adding, ‘‘Now after six years of my rule, they can unfurl it anywhere in Kashmir.”

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Targeting the BJP, Abdullah said: ‘‘See this petrol pump scam. See whom they allotted the agencies. It was not Farooq Abdullah…I must say that these things will not make Bharat.’’

Mocking official and private efforts to hold talks with separatists, especially Jethamalani’s Mission Kashmir, he said: ‘‘I want to ask Jethmalani what exactly he is going to talk to Hurriyat about. Are they ready to give azadi to Hurriyat. Are they ready to hand over Kashmir to Pakistan?’’

Abdullah added: ‘‘He (Jethmalani) demands Governor’s Rule and asks me to leave my chair. Why doesn’t he ask Modi first. Where was this Kashmir Committee all this time. Whenever it is election time, they pop up like mushrooms.”

Abdullah pointed out that even after 55 years, India could not befriend Pakistan. ‘‘They are now on track one, two and three. But let me tell you no track is going to work…Why don’t you see the state of Pakistan. They tried their level best to dig our graves and see what has happened to them. Their President unfurls the flag in a closed room because those Islamic terrorists and jehadis, who they had send to destroy us, are now after them as well.’’

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Warning Vajpayee of conspiracies being woven all around, Abdullah said: “Friendship (with Pakistan) is okay. But we are made to make sacrifices and lose lives for this friendship.’’

Challenging the separatists to contest the coming state polls, he said: ‘‘We will tell the people a few things. Let them also tell the people their viewpoint. Then let us see who is elected.”