Farooq Abdullah slams Kashmiri ‘pro-freedom’ lobby for ’seditious’ remarks
By ANITuesday, October 26, 2010
NEW DELHI - National Conference President and Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday condemned the recent remarks made by Kashmir’s ‘pro-freedom’ lobby.
At a conference held in New Delhi earlier this week, separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, noted writer-activist Arundhati Roy and pro-Maoist leader Varavara Rao had questioned the accession of Kashmir to India.
Speaking to media persons on the sidelines of a seminar today, Abdullah slammed all those intellectuals, activists and leaders who espoused the caused of Kashmir’s freedom through alleged ‘anti-national’ statements.
Abdullah appealed to the lobbyists to refrain from making inflammatory remarks and introspect on their actions.
“The country has given them that freedom (freedom of speech and expression). It is how you use that freedom. It is not for me to say don’t abuse your freedom. It is for them to decide what is right and what is wrong, what to say and what not to say. It is for a person to himself to decide, not for somebody else to decide,” said Abdullah.
The statements made by Geelani and Roy have been condemned by leaders across the political spectrum, with many even demanding legal action against them. (ANI)
