Jammu, Nov 17 (UNI) In a sharply worded cryptic rejoinder to Gupkar Alliance partners, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said that “King” parties had held Jammu and Kashmir to ransom for half a century as dynastic entitlement.

Pertinent to mention that, earlier in the day, National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah had, in a Tweet, sought to rebut Home Minister Amit Shah who, this morning, posted a series of Tweets denouncing what he described as the Gupkar Gang.

Mr Abdullah wrote “I can understand the frustration behind this attack by the Home Minister.

He had been briefed that the People’s Alliance was preparing to boycott elections. This would have allowed the BJP and newly formed King’s Party a free run in Jammu and Kashmir.

Dr Singh in a prompt response replied, “I can understand the frustration behind the misventure by the Gupkar Gang to gang up against “Shah” because he had spelt the doom of “King” parties, which had for half a century held Jammu and Kashmir to ransom as a dynastic entitlement”.

Later, in an interview to a national TV channel, Dr Singh alleged that both the Congress and the National Conference (NC) are beating about the bush and trying to evade the moot point as to whether they would restore Article 370, if ever voted to power.

If some of the Gupkar leaders believe that they can confuse the nation through the vocabulary of English language, then let them know that we are equally prepared to unfold the treasure of English vocabulary at our command, he quipped.

To the Congress Party, Dr Singh said, “we are ready to go to people in the ensuing District Development Council (DDC) elections in Jammu and Kashmir as well as the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections later with Article 370 as an election issue and let the Congress party also stand the test of the ballot by making its stand clear on Article 370 and 35-A”.

As for the National Conference and PDP, Dr Singh said, its leaders have still not explained to the people as to why they boycotted the Panchayat elections when they had taken the stand that they would not contest any election unless the constitutional changes were reversed and Statehood of Jammu and Kashmir restored.

“What has changed overnight”, he asked, that they have now jumped into the fray in a bid to capture power through DDC elections, he asked.

The more the Gupkar Gang sings its swan song, said Dr Singh, the better it would be for the country because the more they would thus be exposing themselves before the people of Jammu and Kashmir and India.

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