Sajjad Lone RSS stooge, will help Sangh scrap Article 370: Omar Abdullah

SRINAGAR: Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday called ex-separatist Sajjad Lone "an RSS stooge''.

He claimed Lone would help the RSS "abrogate Article 370 and Muslim personal law to damage the state's demography and cultural character''.

"We stand at another threshold of a litmus test where everything we have stood for and rendered sacrifices for is being threatened not only by BJP but also its local stooges, who have abandoned Azadi to support BJP's aims to do away with the Muslim personal law, to abrogate Article 370 and to inflict damage on our state subject law which protects our state's demographic and cultural character," he said at an election rally in Lolab.

Omar asked people to give a verdict for their honor by voting for National Conference (NC) and against those "who used the separatist platform and exploited thousands of young boys right to their youthful graves to reach a stage where they could impetuously jump into the lap of RSS".

Omar ridiculed Lone for calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi his elder brother. "We do not want a brother who would do away with Article 370 and the state's special status. We do not want that big brother, who wants to do away with Muslim personal law and temper with the demography of the state.''

Lone met Modi earlier this month and has put up his candidates from several places in the Valley, where he enjoys support in places like Lolab in his home district of Kupwara.

Lone hit back and blamed Omar Abdullah's NC for damaging Article 370. "He has not lived in Kashmir and got power on a platter. The person, who cannot even speak Kashmiri, cannot claim to be the spokesman for the people of Kashmir."

He said he would safeguard interests of Kashmiris and would not allow abrogation of the Article 370. "I want to ask Omar Abdullah who is responsible for eroding Article 370. Let people check the history and see who is responsible for eroding it."

Lone called Omar's statement mere frustration. "He has realized that people will vote them out of power and now are playing a drama."