PDP took right decision to sack Drabu from state Cabinet: Farooq

Srinagar, Mar 13 : National Conference (NC) President and MP Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday said ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took the right decision to sack Dr Haseeb Drabu from the state cabinet after his comment that ‘Kashmir is not a political issue’.

“All political parties in the valley, besides civil society and common masses rejected the statement made by Dr Drabu… and because of this pressure the ruling party sacked Dr Drabu,” Mr Abdullah said.

“It is the internal matter of PDP, so I can’t say much about it. But, I think it was the right decision taken by them (PDP),” he said.

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday removed Dr Drabu from her cabinet for his remarks that Kashmir is not a political issue. Education Minister Altaf Bukhari has been given additional charge of Finance, Labour and Employment departments.

The statement by Dr Drabu created a political storm in the valley and had drawn criticism from the ruling PDP, opposition and separatists alike. The decision by Mehbooba-led government came at a time when the PDP and its coalition partner, the BJP, are at loggerheads on a range of issues, including over rape and murder case of Asifa Bano in Kathua in Jammu region.

“Don’t see J&K as a conflict state and a political issue. It is a society which has social issues right now. We are trying to find our own space and we are going through a process which many other countries are also going through,” Dr Drabu had said at an event ‘Kashmir: The Way Forward’, organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry at New Delhi.

“It (J&K) is not a political issue as far as I can see. They have been barking up the wrong tree for the last 50 or 70 years by talking about the politics of it, that the political situation has never improved. We seriously need to look at in terms of how it is a society that is in search for itself,” he had said.

The PDP had on Sunday demanded an explanation from Dr Drabu and asked him to retract his statement immediately as it was contradictory to their stand.

The NC had also demanded explanation from the Chief Minister on the statement of Drabu and questioned PDP's stand on Kashmir issue, including 'Self Rule'. Separatist organisations had also reacted sharply against Drabu's statement.