Gambhir slams Omar over his pitch for separate President, PM for J-K

Gautam Gambhir

Cricketer-turned-BJP member Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday lashed out at former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for pitching for revival of the posts of Prime Minister and President for Jammu and Kashmir.

"@OmarAbdullah wants a separate PM for J&K & I want to walk on oceans! @OmarAbdullah wants a separate PM for J&K & I want pigs to fly! More than a separate PM @OmarAbdullah needs some sleep followed by a strong coffee! If he still doesn't understand, then a green Pakistani passport," Gambhir tweeted.

He was commenting on Abdullah's remarks made on Monday that he would work for restoration of the posts of "President" and "Prime Minister" for the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing a public gathering in Kashmir's Bandipora, the National Conference (NC) leader said, "Rest of the princely states merged with the country without condition but we had said that we will have our own identity, our own Constitution. We had our own 'Sadr-e-Riyasat' (President) and 'Wazir-e-Azam' (Prime Minister) too. By God's grace, we will bring that back."

Soon after Abdullah made the comments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed him and asked National Conference's allies like including Congress, NCP, TDP and TMC to spell out their stand on the demand.

Modi, while addressing a rally in Secunderabad in Telangana on Monday, said Abdullah and his National Conference want the "clock (of history) to be turned back" but it was not acceptable to the BJP.

"An ally of the Congress party, a very strong member of the 'mahagathbandhan', the National Conference has given a statement in which they have said that there should be a separate Prime Minister for Kashmir," Prime Minister Modi said.

"They (NC) say that they will take Kashmir back in time and create a scenario wherein there will be two Prime Ministers in India -- one for (Jammu and) Kashmir and one for rest of the country. The Congress party will have to answer as to how its ally has dared to say such a thing," he added.

After the Prime Minister's speech, Abdullah urged his "friends" in the Congress and other ally parties to call Modi's "bluff" by "distancing themselves" from his remark on a separate "President" and "Prime Minister" for Jammu and Kashmir.

Abdullah said he was "humbled" and "grateful" for the attention paid to his speeches by the Prime Minister on a national platform.

Till 1965, the Head of State of Jammu and Kashmir used to be called 'Sadr-e-Riyasat' (meaning President) while the elected Head of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir would be called 'Wazir-e-Azam' (meaning Prime Minister). These nomenclatures were then abolished and replaced with the Governor and the Chief Minister, respectively.

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