‘We'd Have Helped...’: Farooq Abdullah Backed Centre's 370 Move In Private, Says Ex-RAW Chief's Book

Last Updated:April 16, 2025, 11:04 IST

In an explosive claim, former RAW chief AS Dulat has said in his new book that Farooq Abdullah may have called the abrogation of Article 370 "betrayal", however, he backed the move in private.

Farooq Abdullah backed Article 370 move, claims Dulat's book (PTI Image)

Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, in public, has repeatedly voiced his opposition to the abrogation of Article 370 from the Constitution that gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, but in private, he backed the Centre’s move, former RAW chief AS Dulat has made an explosive claim in his new book, ‘The Chief Minister and the Spy’.

In his public speeches and media interactions, Abdullah repeatedly called the Modi government’s August 5, 2019, step a “betrayal"; however, he sang a different tune in private, according to the book that has made explosive claims, Hindustan Times reported.

“We would have helped (pass the proposal). Why were we not taken into confidence?" Abdullah asked Dulat, the book said.

Abdullah and his son (now the J&K Chief Minister) Omar had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi – a meeting which came days before the Centre’s historic move, the secrecy of which was maintained until the last moment when the Bill was presented in the Parliament.

“What transpired…nobody will ever know," Dulat wrote in his book.

After the passage of the Bill, Abdullah was detained for nearly seven months. “They (government) wanted him to accept the new reality," Dulat wrote.

In 2020, when Abdullah was released from detention, he refused to endorse the government’s decision. “Whatever I say, I will say in Parliament," the former J&K chief minister told Dulat.

Abdullah was the one who joined hands with long-time rivals such as PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and forged the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), to raise voice against the Centre’s “unilateral" decision and seek the restoration of Article 370 and statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, which was temporarily turned to a Union Territory with a promise to give its statehood back at an appropriate time.

News politics ‘We'd Have Helped...’: Farooq Abdullah Backed Centre's 370 Move In Private, Says Ex-RAW Chief's Book