Mehbooba gets personal, takes a dig at Abdullahs

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti took on the Abdullahs on ‘‘issues’’ ranging from inter-faith marriages in the family to Omar’s faltering Kashmiri. ‘‘Omar kehte hain ki Kashmir ka tashakhus bachayenge. National Conference aur woh kehte hain Hindu-Muslim-Sikh ittihad. Aur to nahin, unhone yeh apne ghar mein kamyab kiya hai (Omar says he will safeguard Kashmir’s identity. He and the NC swear by Hindu-Muslim-Sikh unity. They’ve achieved this only within their home),’’ Mehbooba said at a rally here. Omar, his father Farooq Abdullah, and his two sisters are married outside their religion.

Buoyed by a 4,000-strong audience, Mehbooba slammed Omar Abdullah on his claims of preserving Kashmiri identity when he couldn’t speak the language properly. ‘‘Brother Omar is being taught Kashmiri by four tutors,’’ she said, mimicking some of his statements at election rallies. ‘‘How can a person who takes two years to understand his mother tongue claim to safeguard Kashmiris’ identity?’’ she said.

She said the previous NC regime had let loose a reign of terror through the State Task Force. ‘‘Today, the youth don’t visit me to help set their relatives free but ask for a cricket ground, sports kit and stadium… the PDP has empowered the people of the state which NC could not do in the 30 years of its misrule,’’ she said.

Lashing out at the NC, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said it was his government that had released separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Yasin Malik. ‘‘I believe democracy is the battle of ideas and everyone should be allowed to demonstrate their ideas openly,’’ he said.