New Delhi:
Gautam Gambhir, cricketer-politician, and Omar Abdullah engaged in a war-of-words on Twitter with the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister asking the newly minted BJP leader to "stick to stuff you know." Gambhir, who recently joined the BJP, had mocked Abdullah on Twitter for his statement on Monday that Jammu and Kashmir would one day have a separate Prime Minister and President if there were attempts to tinker with Article 35A.
"Omar Abdullah wants a separate PM for J&K and I want to walk on oceans! Omar Abdullah wants a separate PM for J&K and I want pigs to fly! More than a separate PM Omar Abdullah needs some sleep followed by a strong coffee! If he still doesn't understand then a green Pakistani passport," Gambhir tweeted on Tuesday afternoon.
Omar Abdullah hit back swiftly: "Gautam, I never played much cricket because I knew I wasn't very good at it. You don't know very much about J&K, it's history or the role of @jknc_ in shaping that history yet you insist on displaying that ignorance for all to see. Stick to stuff you know about, tweet about the IPL."
Gautam,I never played much cricket because I knew I wasn’t very good at it. You don’t know very much about J&K,it’s history or the role of @jknc_ in shaping that history yet you insist on displaying that ignorance for all to see. Stick to stuff you know about, tweet about the IPL https://t.co/2ZSHJclWkt
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) April 2, 2019
Abdullah’s statement during a rally on Monday triggered a controversy, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi hitting out at the National Conference leader and asking the Congress and Mahagatbandhan leaders to make clear their stand.
Modi said there were media reports that Abdullah has stated there should be a separate Prime Minister for Kashmir.
"Two Prime Ministers for Hindustan? Do you agree with it? Congress has to answer and all the 'Mahagathbandhan' partners have to answer. What are the reasons and how dare he say that", he said.
Modi said he also wants to ask Trinamool Chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar whether they agreed with Omar Abdullah's statement.
"I want to ask Bengal Didi who shouts a lot, do you agree with it? answer the people. U-turn (Chandrababu) Babu with whom Farooq Abdullah campaigned recently in Andhra Pradesh. Do you think Naidu should get votes?
NCP's Sharad Pawar and former Prime Minister H D Devegowda, whose son is Karnataka CM, should also answer. Would you like to go with them (Mahagathbandhan) or break away from them?", Modi said.
On the vexed Kashmir issue against the background of BJP leaders favouring abrogation of Article 370, Abdullah had mentioned about J&K having a separate Prime Minister years ago and whether it needed to be restored to protect the state's identity.
