NC chief Farooq Abdullah says 'let J&K go to hell' after SC's verdict on Article 370, BJP hits back

National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday kicked up a row after he angrily said "let Jammu and Kashmir go to hell" when he was quizzed about the Supreme Court's verdict on the abrogation of Article 370.Abdullah retort to the reporter's question on the top court's verdict seemed to be borne out of frustration."Let Jammu and Kashmir go to hell...," he said, adding, "They betrayed people. They want to win people's hearts. How'd you win that if you'd do such things to push people farther away?"Reacting to the development, the BJP said that Abdullah's statement has exposed the true face of the Opposition.Coming out in defence of Jawahar Lal Nehru after the BJP blamed the country's first prime minister for decades of violence and instability in Jammu and Kashmir and the special constitutional privileges for the erstwhile state under Article 370, the NC stalwart claimed that the former was in the US when the special provision was brought.He claimed that the then Union Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and saffron ideologue and Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mukherjee were involved in the process of according special constitutional privileges to the erstwhile state."I don't know why they (BJP) have so much venom against (Pandit Jawaharlal) Nehru. Nehru is not the one responsible (for providing special status to J-K under Article 370). When this article (370) was brought, Sardar Patel was here (in Parliament) and Pandit Nehru was in America. When the cabinet meeting (on the imposition of the special constitutional provision) took place, Syama Prasad Mukherjee was also party to it. It was at this meeting that the decision was taken," Abdullah said.Abdullah said he was hopeful that the Supreme Court would direct the Centre to conduct immediate elections in Jammu and Kashmir.The apex court, while upholding the revocation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir in a landmark ruling on Monday, set a deadline of September next year for the Centre to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and hold elections there."We want immediate elections to take place in Kashmir but the Supreme Court gave them time till September. Where's the justice?" he said.With inputs from agencies