Omar Abdullah calls FIR against Iltija Mufti 'fixed match' amid Article 370 row
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday dismissed the FIR against PDP leader Iltija Mufti over allegations that she bit a police officer
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday dismissed the FIR against PDP leader Iltija Mufti over allegations that she bit a police officer during a protest, calling it a "fixed match" aimed at rebuilding the party's credibility. He made the remarks while responding to PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti's charge that her party members, including her daughter Iltija, were being targeted by police for speaking for the restoration of Article 370. Read Full Story Abdullah also linked the controversy to the backlash over Mehbooba Mufti's recent "woh banta hai" remark at a protest in Delhi on the use of pellet guns in Kashmir.
He said the latest episode was an attempt to shift attention from that statement and said the PDP's image had weakened after the row. "Don't ask me for commentary on this fixed match," Abdullah told reporters. "Now tell me, is Iltija Mufti a five-year-old child who can bite someone? Even a five-year-old knows that you don't bite people in this manner." He added, "This unnecessary attempt to fool the public is nothing but an effort to make people forget about the 'woh banta hai' statement. Unfortunately, this keeps happening with the PDP." Abdullah said Mehbooba Mufti's remark had harmed her party's standing despite her later unconditional apology.
She had clarified that she meant to say "bahana banta hai" instead of "woh banta hai". "After the 'woh banta hai' statement, their image has become so weak," Abdullah said. "This party did not rise on its own; it was created by the agencies. Whenever their image becomes weak, attempts are made by the agencies to restore their credibility. This unnecessary attempt to fool the public is nothing but an effort to make people forget," he said. Police have maintained that Iltija Mufti assaulted an official during the August 5 protest and alleged that she bit him.
The PDP has strongly denied the charge and described the case as a politically motivated crackdown to suppress demands for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's special status, which was revoked by the Centre in August 2019. The exchange sharpened the political row, with Abdullah rejecting the police case against Iltija Mufti as staged and the PDP insisting that its leaders were being targeted over their stand on Article 370. Ends
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