Omar's statement is pure cowardice laced with double standards: Centre

Coming down heavily on former chief minister Omar Abdullah for calling on the Narendra Modi Government not to blame Pakistan for the Kashmir unrest, the Centre on Sunday asserted that his statement was laced with double standards, adding that the National Conference (NC) chief has made this remarks in order to redeem what he and three generations of his party have done to Kashmir.

Speaking to ANI here, Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh stated that the current government is trying to clear the mess of the previous NC regime in the state.

"He (Omar) is accusing himself, his father and grandfather, who have been at the helm of affairs for decades, which has led to this mess. So, we should also blame these wise worthies who left this mess. Present government is trying to clear the mess in the brief period of two years of power. He is trying to redeem what he and three generations of his party have done to Kashmir," Singh said.

The Union Minister alleged that 'Kashmir-centric' politicians continue to openly accuse the Centre over Pakistan, but do not have the courage to say a single word against the provocative statements by the hostile neighbour, as it would irk Islamabad's sympathisers in Kashmir.

"They know this is the resilience and greatness of Indian democracy that they can abuse India and Indian government and get away with it. But if they make statements inviting wrath of separatists, then they are risking themselves. So, I think this is cowardice with double standards," Singh stated.

Abdullah on Saturday had criticised the Centre for failing to take concrete measures to curb the unrest in Kashmir post the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani and said that it would be a "grave mistake" to always blame Pakistan and turning a blind eye to internal issues.

"Simply blaming Pakistan for the present situation, then, it would mean that we don't have to do anything to prevent the unrest, which I think would be a grave mistake. We need to have talks internally, we need to solve this political crisis and until we are conscious of this reality, I don't think we can take any concrete action," Omar said.

Omar's remarks came days after he reprimanded incumbent Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for the prolonged unrest in Kashmir and asked the latter to take responsibility for the same.