Omar Abdullah responds to Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy’s ‘boycott everything Kashmiri’ remark

In his tweet, Roy said: “An appeal from a retired colonel of the Indian Army: Don’t visit Kashmir, don’t go to Amarnath for the next 2 years. Don’t buy articles from Kashmir emporia or Kashmiri tradesman who come every winter. Boycott everything Kashmiri. I am inclined to agree.”

The tweet drew a sharp reaction from former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who said that people like Roy want Kashmir but without Kashmiris.

Abdullah also called Roy among “bigots driving Kashmir over the abyss,” and asked him, “while you are at it Tathagata, why don’t you stop using our rivers to generate your electricity as well?”

Roy’s comment also drew flak from social media users, with many questioning his call to boycott an Indian state.

Following the criticism, Roy said: “Vociferously violent reactions from media and several others to my echoing of a suggestion from a retired army colonel. A purely non-violent reaction to the killing of our soldiers by the hundreds and the driving out of 3.5 lakh Kashmiri Pandits.”