By Zeenat Zeeshan Fazil

Copyright republicworld

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir’s Health and Education Minister Sakeena Itoo, a senior National Conference (NC) leader, launched a blistering attack on Peoples Conference (PC) chief Sajad Lone during a public rally in Kulgam on Friday. Itoo accused Lone of “putting guns in the hands of youngsters, encouraging them to go to Pakistan for arms training, and promising that Kashmir would get Azadi (freedom)”. The NC leader claimed that these actions led to the deaths of thousands of Kashmiri youth, stating, “Graveyards after graveyards were filled in the Valley, all in the name of Azadi”. She also criticized Lone for his silence during his tenure as Social Welfare Minister in the BJP-led coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir.“When you were a minister, you did not speak about the people of Kashmir,” she said.Targeting Lone’s recent criticisms of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Itoo added, “What troubles you today is not the plight of the people, but the fact that Omar Abdullah is the Chief Minister. And it was the people of Jammu and Kashmir who chose him,”.Lone had recently taken to X on September 15 to slam the Omar Abdullah government over its handling of a crisis affecting apple growers, pointing out that apples meant for transport to other parts of the country were rotting, causing heavy losses for farmers.”Bad weather is not the government’s fault, but sitting idly and doing nothing is a crime,” Lone wrote, urging the Chief Minister to stop “wandering aimlessly across the country” and devise a concrete strategy with officials and stakeholders.In addition to her remarks against Lone, Itoo recently found herself in a verbal spat with Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, NC’s Member of Parliament (MP) from the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency.The exchange centered on the prolonged closure of the National Highway, with Itoo taking a jibe at Ruhullah for criticizing the government.She argued that instead of pointing fingers at the administration, Ruhullah should focus on raising the core issues of Jammu and Kashmir in Parliament.”Now he is pointing fingers at us. He should instead raise people’s issues in the Parliament that he deems are crucial and merit concern,” Itoo added.