SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday criticised PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti over her remarks at Jantar Mantar.The CM questioned whether she had issued an unequivocal apology for comments that drew criticism for allegedly justifying the use of force against Kashmiris, news agency PTI reportedEarlier this week, Mufti appeared to defend the past use of pellet guns in Kashmir, saying the situation in the Valley was different because security forces were dealing with militancy.At the same time, she opposed police action against student protesters in the national capital.The remarks triggered a political row, with the ruling National Conference accusing the PDP chief of drawing a distinction between the use of force against Kashmiris and protesters elsewhere.Responding to the controversy on Tuesday, Mufti acknowledged that the video was genuine and said the word “excuse”, used while referring to militancy, had slipped out during her speech and was not part of a calculated statement.“There is a controversy regarding Jantar Mantar. Omar Abdullah has reached Jantar Mantar to demand statehood. What difference would it have made if he had stood there for just two minutes for the sake of our youth?” Mufti said.She maintained that a particular clip had been taken out of context and sensationalised, PTI reported.“One particular clip, where I mentioned ‘militancy’ and used the word ‘excuse’, was blown out of proportion. That word slipped out in haste; it wasn’t a calculated statement,” she said.Mufti rejected claims that the video was fabricated, clarifying that she had made the remarks but that her words had been misinterpreted.“I will not claim the video is fake; the video is genuine. However, the word ‘excuse’ slipped out while I was addressing a crowd, and it was misinterpreted,” she said.“If my people were hurt, then I sincerely apologise for that,” the PDP chief added.Mufti also accused other political parties in Jammu and Kashmir of reacting to the controversy because of the political pressure created by the PDP.“Other parties here, the so-called ‘B-teams’ and ‘C-teams’, claim they want to normalise everything but are forced to issue statements because of the rhetoric coming from my party and me,” she said.Earlier, Abdullah had questioned whether Mufti’s earlier expression of regret amounted to an apology.“Did she apologise? Did she use the word apology? There is a difference between regret and an apology. Was the word apology used? No, right? Then where is the apology?” the chief minister said.He argued that expressing regret was different from offering an unconditional apology.“You all are sensible people. There is a difference between regret and an apology. I express regret versus I seek an apology; there is a world of difference between the two,” Abdullah said.He had also questioned Mufti’s use of the phrase “if my statement caused pain to anyone”, saying the conditional wording did not amount to a clear apology.The chief minister also demanded an apology from PDP MLA Waheed Para, who had described the video as “AI-generated”.“For five days, he kept repeating that this was AI. Today, Mehbooba herself said that there is no AI involved and that she has said it herself,” Abdullah said.He accused Para of attempting to mislead people about the authenticity of the video and said that even if the PDP MLA did not apologise, he should at least express regret.Abdullah was also asked about Mufti’s allegation that the National Conference had exaggerated the controversy and portrayed her remarks as though she had signed the death warrants of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and JKLF founder Maqbool Bhat.“As far as certificates (death warrants) are concerned, no one signed them here,” the chief minister said.(With agency inputs)
