PM Modi failed to carry forward Vajpayee's legacy, says Farooq Abdullah

National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi “failed” to carry forward the legacy of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. “Modi has failed to carry forward the legacy of Vajpayee. The people of J-K did not see him (Modi) put into practice the catch words of ‘Jamhooriyat, Insaniyat and Kashmiriyat’, Abdullah said addressing a public meet at Damhal Hanjipura in Kulgam district of south Kashmir.

The NC president said the people of the state have not seen Modi deliver on his promises.

“His words have been confined to rhetoric only. Had he the sincerity of thought to implement it, he would have done so since 2014, however, no concrete step was taken by the incumbent BJP government led by PM Modi to realize it on ground.

“Today we see him tout ‘Vajpayee formula’, why didn’t he implement it on ground for past five years. We didn’t see him do justice either with the people of our state. On the contrary the people of our state have never in history suffered so immensely as they did during PM Modi-led BJP government,” Abdullah said.

Earlier, Farooq Abdullah had stirred controversy after praising Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik. “Yasin Malik despite being severely ill is languishing in jail because he is advocating a dialogue with India but is not willing to sell self-respect of Kashmiris. He has preferred death over surrender. I congratulate him for that,” Abdullah said. He said this addressing an election rally in Devsar area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district.

Hitting out at separatists Abdullah said, the election boycott will not serve any purpose. “The separatists have only led Kashmir towards death and destruction and today the NIA is after them,” he said.