Mehbooba Mufti's Jantar Mantar Remarks Trigger Political Storm In J&K Omar Abdullah Demands Apology
Mehbooba Mufti's Jantar Mantar Remarks Trigger Political Storm In J&K Omar Abdullah Demands Apology Reported By, Edited By Last Updated: July 27, 2026, 22:02 IST
Mehbooba Mufti's Jantar Mantar Remarks Trigger Political Storm In J&K; Omar Abdullah Demands Apology Reported By, Edited By Last Updated: July 27, 2026, 22:02 IST Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said Mehbooba should not have visited Jantar Mantar if she intended to justify the use of force against Kashmiris. Rapid Read J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has come under sharp criticism over her remarks at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and several political parties demanding that she apologise. Mehbooba had visited the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protest at Jantar Mantar earlier this week to express solidarity with students demonstrating over alleged examination irregularities. While condemning the use of force by Delhi Police against unarmed student protesters, she drew a comparison with the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. She said the use of force, including the past use of pellet guns in Kashmir, made some sense or was “banta hai" because security forces in the Valley were dealing with militancy, unlike the non-violent student protesters in Delhi, who were carrying neither stones nor weapons.
A video of her remarks soon went viral, with many interpreting them as a justification for the crackdown on Kashmiri protesters during the 2016 unrest, when Mehbooba was serving as Chief Minister in the PDP-BJP coalition government. The unrest had left hundreds of people, many of them young, with pellet injuries, including permanent loss of eyesight. The ruling Conference (NC) launched a strong attack over the remarks. On Monday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said Mehbooba should not have visited Jantar Mantar if she intended to justify the use of force against Kashmiris. “She justified wrong use of force and arrests by stating since there’s militancy so it’s legitimated. Shouldn’t law be applicable here? Shouldn’t people get justice and passports?" Omar questioned. Abdullah also said Mehbooba should have apologised instead of claiming that the viral video was AI-generated. NC chief spokesperson and MLA Tanvir Sadiq described the remarks as “shameful" and alleged that they amounted to portraying civil protesters as militants. He demanded an immediate apology to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, asking whether those protesting for basic amenities or against reservation would also be branded as militants.
Other NC leaders, including Imran Nabi Dar, also criticised Mehbooba, accusing her of casually portraying Kashmiri protesters, including women and children, as militants while endorsing policies that had left many blinded and traumatised. Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari also condemned the remarks, calling them an insult to the people of Kashmir. He linked the comments to Mehbooba’s handling of the 2016 unrest and recalled her controversial “doodh aur toffee" remark while referring to the human cost of pellet gun use during her tenure. The PDP, however, has dismissed the criticism. Party leaders, including Waheed Para, alleged that the viral clip had been edited or distorted using AI. They maintained that Mehbooba was highlighting how security measures and laws that were earlier applied in Kashmir in the name of militancy were now being extended to other parts of the country, and argued that her remarks had been taken out of context. Mehbooba Mufti is expected to address the media on Tuesday and respond to the controversy. The episode comes at a politically challenging time for the PDP, which has struggled since 2019 after several senior leaders left the party.
The BriefWire