New Delhi, Apr 18 (PTI) Former RAW chief A S Dulat on Friday vehemently refuted claims suggesting that former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah privately supported the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, dismissing those as “absolute nonsense”.

Speaking at the launch of his book titled ‘The Chief Minister and the Spy’ here, he addressed the controversy that erupted following media reports that Abdullah had “privately” suggested that he would have helped in the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 had he been taken into confidence.

Dulat asserted that “there was not a single Kashmiri who spoke in favour of the abrogation.” He cited former Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s description of the move as a “monumental blunder,” emphasising the widespread opposition within the region.

Dulat, the former head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the external intelligence agency of the country, detailed his meeting with Abdullah following his release from detention in February 2020.

“I could barely speak to him, but what he said was that despite supporting India and always siding with the idea of India, why lock his family up? If they had to do this (arrest), why did they not take them (Abdullahs) into confidence?” Dulat said, clarifying that Abdullah’s concern was primarily regarding the post-abrogation detentions.

Addressing a “misrepresented” news article, Dulat acknowledged it caused him concern initially, but “I decided to sleep over it and hoped that everyone would form an opinion after reading the entire book.” Dulat also emphasised the necessity of improving relations with Pakistan, stating, “We need to move on and we need to move on with Pakistan. I do not know how many people will agree with me, but I have said this umpteen times, and I will continue to say that we must move on with Pakistan.” Dulat recalled Abdullah’s frequent saying, “Zindagi zindadili ka naam hai, murde kya jiya karte hain (Life is about living to the fullest, how can the dead live)” and hoped that Abdullah would change his mind after reading the entire book.

Dulat also went on to praise Abdullah as one of the tallest leaders of the country and said, “he never failed India, but there have been several times that he has been let down”.

The book was released by Salma Ansari, wife of former Vice President Hamid Ansari. It was scheduled to be released by former Chief Justice of India T S Thakur, however, he announced on Friday morning that he would skip the event due to a political storm over certain parts of the book concerning Abdullah.

Abdullah has dismissed Dulat’s claims that he had “privately backed” the abrogation of Article 370 as a “cheap stunt” to boost the sales of the top spy’s forthcoming memoir.

In his response to Dulat’s invitation, Justice (Retd) Thakur said, “While I had accepted your kind invitation to participate in the release function, I have since yesterday (Wednesday) seen a political storm brewing in the print and electronic media for certain parts of your book especially those attributing certain statements to (Farooq) Abdullah whom you admire and treat as a valued friend.” The ex-CJI said Farooq Abdullah has also publicly “disowned, if not denounced” the statements attributed to him.

“In the circumstances, you would kindly appreciate that the raging controversy and its political overtones would be an embarrassment for me which I would like to avoid not only on account of my long and cordial association with the Abdullah family but also because as a totally apolitical person I would not like to be seen promoting or endorsing a book which is being disowned by the very person about whom the same has been written,” Justice Thakur (retd) said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre abrogated Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, on August 5, 2019, and bifurcated the erstwhile state into Union territories. PTI SKL RHL