A few hours earlier, PM had slammed ‘unacceptable’ remarks by J&K ex-CMs

NEW DELHI: “There have been statements made by former Jammu & Kashmir chief ministers that are not acceptable to us and should bother anyone raising issues relating to the Constitution,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Parliament on Thursday while replying to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President’s address.

Hours before former CMs Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah were booked under the Public Safety Act at the end of their six-month detention, Modi quoted Mufti as having said, “Humne jis desh ke saath rahne ka faisla kiya, us ne dhokha kiya hai… aisa lagta hai humne 1947 mein galat chunav kiya tha (The country with which we decided to stay has betrayed us, it seems we made a wrong choice in 1947).”

He then added, “How can someone endorse such a statement… has the Constitution deceived her?” He criticised the former CMs for remarks on scrapping the state’s special status.

Asserting that Kashmir was the “crown jewel” of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “My government has pushed development in Jammu & Kashmir. We had faith in the people of the Valley but the leaders in the state didn’t have.”

Modi said Kashmir’s identity was buried on January 19, 1990 when Kashmiri Pandits started leaving the Valley due to militancy. He said Ladakh would be developed as a carbon-neutral Union territory. Modi also said those opposing the Citi