Hurt by criticism of Jawaharlal Nehru: Farooq Abdullah

Jammu, November 20

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Sunday slammed the critics of former PMs Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi and said he was hurt by “derogatory remarks” against the towering national leaders.

The former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir said he had a lot of respect for the two Congress stalwarts despite the fact that Nehru jailed his father and National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and Indira dismissed his government in 1984. “The role of Nehru during and after freedom struggle is praiseworthy. He led the country in the freedom struggle and later when we were even dependent on a small needle from outside, he laid the foundation of the industrial revolution and made the country atomic power. We used to import wheat from America which was not even good for animals. But Indira revolutionised the agriculture sector and we started exporting the surplus grains,” he said.

“What India is today is because of Nehru and Indira,” he said. Without naming the BJP, Abdullah said those pointing fingers at them would face the same situation when they would be out of power.