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Updated: Jun 22, 2020 01:26 IST

Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik and Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury got into a spat on Monday over the situation in the state that has been under security lockdown since August 5. This comes days an opposition team, including Rahul Gandhi, was turned back from Srinagar airport..

The Centre through a Presidential order on August 5 scrapped Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir. It also divided the state into two Union Territories.

The spat started with the Congress leader saying: “I think the Governor of Jammu & Kashmir should be made the BJP president for J&K because his behaviour as well as his statements are more like that of a BJP leader,” reports ANI.

Also watch| J-K Governor Malik, Congress’s Chowdhury spar over situation in the state

Malik was quick to retort with an acerbic comment. “By saying what he said in Parliament, he buried his party in the grave. What do I say on his knowledge? I’m doing my work with utmost devotion, I don’t care about these allegations,” reports ANI.

Malik was referring to the Congress leaders’ comment on Kashmir in Parliament during the Article 370 debate that had raised eyebrows. “I’m confused, you say it’s an internal matter. You’ve bifurcated a state but I’m saying, since 1948 as the United Nations is monitoring, is that an internal matter? The Shimla Agreement, the Lahore one, were they internal matters or bilateral?”, Chowdhury had said. The Congress leader had invited a lot of criticism over this statement.

Governor Malik on Monday also took potshots at Gandhi saying that he had made my invitation to visit Valley an ‘unending business’. “Rahul Gandhi has made my invitation an unending business. I had said if you don’t believe us then come and visit, later he said I’ll meet people under house arrest, will meet Army. I said I can’t accept these conditions and leave it to administration,” ANI quoted Malik as saying.

On Sunday, Gandhi had tweeted how he got a first-hand experience of “brute force” unleashed on the people of Jammu and Kashmir when he tried visiting Srinagar with a delegation of opposition leaders on Saturday.

“It’s been 20 days since the people of Jammu & Kashmir had their freedom & civil liberties curtailed,” tweeted Rahul on Sunday evening.

“Leaders of the Opposition & the Press got a taste of the draconian administration & brute force unleashed on the people of J&K when we tried to visit Srinagar yesterday,” Rahul added.