‘Separate J&K’: Gautam Gambhir, Omar Abdullah exchange barbs

SRINAGAR: Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir, who recently joined the BJP, on Tuesday had a spat with former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Twitter following the latter sought restoration of the posts of Sadar-e-Riyasat (President of the state) and Prime Minister for the state.

“Omar Abdullah wants a separate Prime Minister for Jammu and Kashmir and I want to walk on oceans! Omar Abdullah wants a separate Prime Minister for Jammu and Kashmir and I want pigs to fly. More than a separate PM @OmarAbdullah needs some sleep followed by a strong coffee! If he still doesn't understand then a green Pakistani passport,” Mr Gambhir tweeted.

Reacting sharply to Mr Gambhir's comments, the National Conference (NC) leader said the former opening batsman of the Indian team should only talk about cricket, which is the thing he knows.

“Gautam, I never played much cricket because I knew I wasn't very good at it. You don't know very much about J&K, it's history or the role of @jknc_ in shaping that history yet you insist on displaying that ignorance for all to see. Stick to stuff you know about, tweet about the IPL,” he said.

The former cricketer replied, “Never mind your lack of cricketing prowess but Kashmiris and our country would have been well served if you knew a thing or two about selfless governance. By the way history is always consistent but perspectives are subjective. Better clean ur reading glasses”.

Shrugging off criticism, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday reiterated his promise of getting back executive posts of Sadr-e-Riyasat and Prime Minister to the state if his National Conference (NC) party is voted to power.

He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had earlier hit out at him over his seeking a separate Prime Minister for J&K, to go through the history of the state.