Former Chief Minister of Jammu Kashmir Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday said during the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits the then Governor Jagmohan Malhotra had put Kashmiri Hindus in buses and told them they would be brought back in two months.
However, 32 years have passed and his promise remains unfulfilled, Farooq Abdullah said.
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In an exclusive interview with India Today’s Raj Chengappa, Farooq Abdullah said, “We cannot forget the then Governor [Jagmohan Malhotra] who put the Pandits in buses and said, ‘We will bring you back in two months because I have to use force on these people [insurgents] and the retaliation might impact you’. It has been 32 years. Where are the Kashmiri Pandits?”
I’m Not To Blame.
Further, he said, “I was not ruling then [during exodus]. The minute Jagmohan came, I gave up. I said, try and save the situation. You don’t trust me, trust him. On the very first day [of his rule], 50 people lost their lives. He was the man in charge. Was he able to save the situation?”
“The Kashmir files is a propaganda movie. It has raked up a tragedy that affected every soul of the state, Hindus and Muslims alike. My heart still bleeds over the tragedy. There was an element of political parties that were interested in ethnic cleansing,” he said, in an exclusive interaction with India Today Group Editorial Director Raj Chengappa.
The Kashmir Files tells the true story of brutal sufferings endured by Kashmiri Pandits in 1990, during the Kashmir insurgency. He dismissed allegations of inaction at the time. “If people want to know the truth, they can talk to the people who can tell them, like Musar Raza, who was my chief secretary, or Arif Muhammad Khan who was a central minister at that time,” he said.
“When they [Centre] wanted to release five people whom we had caught, I refused. The Government of India was being led by VP Singh supported by the BJP,” Farooq Abdullah said speaking about the 1989 kidnapping of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s daughter Rubaiyya Sayed.
He said, “I don’t think I am responsible. If people want to know the bitter truth, they should talk to the Intelligence Bureau chief of the time or Kerala governor Arif Mohammad Khan who was a central minister at the time.”
“The truth will come out when you put an honest judge or committee in place. You will come to know who’s responsible. If Farooq Abdullah is responsible, Farooq Abdullah is ready to be hanged anywhere in the country. I’m ready to stand that trial but don’t blame people who aren’t responsible,” he added.