Srinagar, July 28, KNT: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday expressed regret over the remarks she made during a gathering at Jantar Mantar, describing them as an inadvertent slip of the tongue and apologising to those who were hurt by her statement.
Addressing reporters, Mehbooba said her remarks had been misunderstood and that she had intended to convey a different message.
“I had to say ‘Bahana Banta Hai’, but instead I said ‘Banta Hai’ at Jantar Mantar. I apologise for it,” she said.
Her clarification comes a day after National Conference Vice President and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah criticized her remarks and publicly said she should apologize instead of attributing the controversy to claims that the video was AI-generated.
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Mehbooba said she never intended to hurt public sentiment and reiterated her commitment to speaking responsibly in public forums.
“People have expectations from me, and I regret if they have been hurt by my statement. The error was inadvertent. I spoke to so many reporters at Jantar Mantar where students from Kashmir had invited me. This was made into a big issue here by political parties,” she said.
Referring to the years of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, the former Chief Minister recalled that she had often helped families recover the bodies of relatives allegedly killed in security force excesses.
She also launched a sharp attack on National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, alleging that during his tenure, Ikhwan groups were given a free hand.
Mehbooba further alleged that Omar Abdullah, while serving as Minister of State for External Affairs in the Government of India, used to tell the international community that his father was helpless because of the prevailing militancy in Kashmir.
She also claimed that Farooq Abdullah used to tell former Congress Working Committee president Sitaram Kesri that she was “anti-national.”
The PDP president maintained that while she stood by her commitment to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, she regretted the unintended wording of her remarks and apologized for the inadvertent error. [KNT]
