Three-time former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday slammed the Election Commission for deploying a large contingent of central police forces and bureaucrats during the West Bengal polls.
"Is Bengali not being trusted', asked Abdullah, who is the president of the ruling National Conference even as he went on to condemn the rhetoric used by national leaders against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He descried the language used to criticise Banerjee as "unparliamentary and not befitting this nation".
Emphasising that a strong India requires respecting its citizens, he told PTI, "If you want a strong India, then Bengalis have the right to choose their leadership without being coerced towards any other direction."
Abdullah lashed out at the approach of some quarters in the government towards state elections and regional identities, specifically questioning if the people of West Bengal "are being treated as outsiders" within their own country.
Referring to the massive deployment of central police forces and the reshuffling of bureaucrats during the election season in West Bengal, Abdullah questioned the underlying intent, saying "the way even from Jammu and Kashmir forces have been removed in large numbers and sent, saying that they want a peaceful election...officers have been moved from states. What for? Is the Bengali not trusted? Is he (West Bengal) not part of the nation?" Abdullah did not mince words regarding the institutional oversight of the electoral processes in West Bengal, expressing his disappointment with the poll body.
"I pity the Election Commission in the way it has handled the situation," he said.
Without naming the BJP, he said, "They have not been successful up to this time. I do not know what the results will hold, but whatever it is, we must not follow such things", suggesting that the methods employed were flawed.
The second and final phase of polling was held in West Bengal on Wednesday, and the results will be announced on May 4.
Speaking about the diminishing space of separatists, Abdullah suggested that the threat of separatism, which has existed since independence, has "gradually reduced to a very minimum number".
Instead, Abdullah termed growing communal tensions in the country as a bigger threat.
"Today, it's not the separatism that is worrying us. What is worrying us is the communal tendencies that have now emerged in our nation, where, for political power, you are dividing communities on a religious basis."
He warned that this trend is a danger not just for Jammu and Kashmir but also for the stability of the entire nation.
He reminded that India's strength lies in its "unity in diversity," pointing out the vast differences in language and culture among regions from Jammu and Kashmir to Tamil Nadu.
"We will never become Vishwaguru unless we are united. Danger lies in not being united," he said and stressed that the only thing holding the country together is the collective will to help each other through difficult times.
"Together we can make a strong nation by helping each other in the difficult times that we are going through," he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
