The scion of one of the most prominent families in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah today feigned about his humble origins after BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma responded him in kind after his ad hominem attack against cricketer Gautam Gambhir.

The arrogance of these people. Their leader’s humble origins are bragged about. My small start is something I’m supposed to be ashamed of. There is dignity in any honest job & I’m proud of how I started. pic.twitter.com/bFCwNgMeDX — Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) April 3, 2019

Presuming that Gambhir had little knowledge about Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah had retorted to Gambhir saying that he should stick to the stuff he knows and that is about the IPL. Gambhir had, earlier, questioned Abdullah about controversial statements made him regarding a separate PM for J&K. In a rally, Abdullah was seen demanding a separate PM for Jammu and Kashmir and calling for the restoration of terms of J&K’s accession in 1947.

Defending Gambhir, BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma made a snarky remark against Abdullah. In a sharp rejoinder, Sharma said Abdullah should practice stick to the stuff he knows and that is about Hotel receptionist.

Spare Kashmir the agony. Stick to the stuff you know about – being a Hotel receptionist. https://t.co/8tkZr7pJVd — Chowkidar Nupur Sharma (@NupurSharmaBJP) April 3, 2019

Responding to Sharma’s stinging riposte, Abdullah played the victim and asserted that he is proud of his ‘humble beginnings’ as a hotel receptionist. When he was retorted back in the same coin, Abdullah seemed to hide behind the charade of his humble background while accusing the BJP spokesperson of exhibiting arrogance.

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However, the reality is different from what Omar wants us to believe. Omar Abdullah was born with a silver spoon into one of the most renowned families in Jammu and Kashmir. His father Farooq Abdullah had been the CM of the state several times since 1982.

Omar’s grandfather, Sheikh Abdullah, was considered as one of the most influential Kashmiri leaders of his time and a close friend of India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru. He too served as J&K’s CM. National Conference party, one of the key regional political parties in J&K was founded by Sheikh Abdullah. In their 2014 election affidavits, Omar Abdullah declared his assets worth over 65 lacs and his father, Farooq Abdullah declared assets worth over 4 crores.

For several decades now, Abdullahs have been the beneficiaries of entitlement that usually people from humble origins can’t even imagine. So it is tragically amusing when Omar Abdullah claims that he too belongs to a modest background. By doing so, he is either trying to gain public sympathy by feigning modesty or it’s a shoddy attempt by him to deflect the attention from his controversial statements regarding a separate PM for J&K.