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| Amid political storm, NC dubs Dulat’s book as “bundle of lies” | | |  Early Times Report
Jammu, Apr 16: A major political storm has broken out in Jammu and Kashmir following startling revelations made in former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief A.S. Dulat’s latest book, “The Chief Minister and the Spy”, published by Juggernaut.
The controversy centers around claims that National Conference (NC) patron and former Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah, despite publicly denouncing the 2019 abrogation of Article 370 as a “betrayal,” privately expressed willingness to support it.
These assertions have sparked a fierce backlash from political opponents, denials from the NC leadership, and renewed debate over political credibility in Kashmir’s fraught landscape.
Dulat, who shares a decades-long association with Abdullah, writes that the NC leader privately told him: “We would have helped (pass the proposal). Why were we not taken into confidence?”—just days before Article 370 was abrogated on August 5, 2019. He also claims that both Farooq and Omar Abdullah had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the move, though the contents of the meeting remain undisclosed.
The book paints a picture of Abdullah as a pragmatist—publicly opposing the revocation, yet privately open to compromise. Dulat suggests that during Farooq’s seven-month detention following the constitutional change, Delhi hoped he would eventually “accept the new reality” of Jammu and Kashmir’s downgraded status.
Dulat also recounts earlier episodes of perceived betrayal, including a broken promise of vice-presidency under Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which Abdullah reportedly saw as a potential path to the presidency. Quoting Abdullah, he writes: “You people in Delhi think you’re playing chess, but this is a game where even the pawns have memories.”
Dulat’s claims have provoked sharp responses from NC’s political rivals. Iltija Mufti, daughter of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, posted on X: “Dulat sahab, an ardent Abdullah supporter, has shared how Farooq sahab agreed with Delhi’s The controversy centers around claims that NC patron Dr. Farooq Abdullah, privately expressed willingness to support abrogation of Article 370.
These assertions have sparked a fierce backlash from political opponents, denials from the NC leadership, and renewed debate over political credibility in Kashmir’s fraught landscape.
Dulat, who shares a decades-long association with Abdullah, writes that the NC leader privately told him that he should have been taken into confidence.
Dulat suggests that during Farooq’s seven-month detention Delhi hoped he would eventually “accept the new reality”
J&K People's Conference chairman Sajad Lone dismissed the NC’s consistent opposition as performative, sarcastically referring to Dulat as “Uncle of Delhi’s infamous Uncles and Aunties Brigade.” He accused the NC of perfecting a “victimhood routine” while covertly cooperating with Delhi.
Former Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu also chimed that “Something seems to have fallen out of NC’s bag YET AGAIN—and it does seem to be a cat. Commiserations to the vulnerable, gullible people of Kashmir!”
In response, the National Conference has rejected Dulat’s claims outright. Dr. Farooq Abdullah, in a statement to PTI on April 16, labeled the book “full of inaccuracies” and “completely wrong.” He stressed that he was under detention during the abrogation and could not have expressed support.
“Dulat sahab’s book contains so many inaccuracies, I can’t even begin to list them. If he really considers me a friend, he would never have written such things,” Abdullah said. He also denied having sought Dulat’s advice on appointing a chief minister in 1996, another anecdote from the book.
NC Chief Spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq called the book “baseless and fictional,” accusing Dulat of contradicting himself. “If the government waited seven months to see Farooq sahib’s reaction during his custody, then how does Dulat claim he was in favour of the abrogation?” he asked, pointing to Abdullah’s subsequent role in founding the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) as evidence of consistent opposition.
Farooq’s daughter, Safia Abdullah Khan, posted a scathing remark on X: “I’ve never trusted Dulat as far as I could throw him... He’s played fast and loose with the truth once again.” |
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