A sharp political volley flew across the J&K narrative on Sunday, October 25, 2026, as Union Consumer Affairs and New and Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi publicly accused National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah of insulting Indian soldiers by praising Pakistan — remarks Joshi called a betrayal of the very Constitution that put the Abdullah family in power.

Joshi's post pulled no punches: 'By praising Pakistan, he has insulted our brave soldiers who protect Jammu and Kashmir every single day.' He invoked Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, framing the Indian Constitution as the foundational source of the Abdullah family's political fortunes — and, in the same breath, the document they were now allegedly disrespecting.

The Ambedkar card and the constitutional argument

B.R. Ambedkar, chairman of India's Constituent Assembly, is widely regarded as the principal architect of the Indian Constitution. By anchoring his critique in Ambedkar's legacy, Joshi cast the Abdullah family's stance not merely as a foreign-policy disagreement but as ingratitude toward the democratic framework that enabled their decades in power as Chief Ministers and MPs in Jammu and Kashmir. It is a framing the BJP has deployed with increasing frequency to place constitutional loyalty at the centre of the J&K political debate.

Post-2019 J&K and the BJP's integration narrative

Joshi's broadside arrives in the context of a transformation the central government has pointed to repeatedly. In August 2019, the Modi government revoked Article 370, ended Jammu and Kashmir's special constitutional status, and reorganised it as a Union Territory. Since then, New Delhi has consistently framed the change as the gateway to peace, development, and administrative normalcy in a region long scarred by insurgency. 'Under Prime Minister Modi, Jammu and Kashmir has left behind years of violence to enjoy peace, schools, and real progress,' Joshi wrote, condensing that narrative into a single sentence.

The National Conference, led by the Abdullah family — Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah — has historically advocated for regional autonomy and has been a central target of BJP criticism for what the party characterises as soft or ambiguous positions on Pakistan's role in Kashmir. The specific remarks by Farooq Abdullah that triggered Joshi's post could not be independently verified at the time of publication.

Pakistan in Joshi's crosshairs

Joshi's sharpest rhetorical line may have been his dismissal of Pakistan's standing as a protector: 'Pakistan cannot even save its own people, let alone protect anyone else.' It is a pointed reference to Pakistan's persistent domestic instability — economic crises, political upheaval, and security challenges that have dominated its internal landscape in recent years. The argument reframes any Pakistani claim over Kashmiri welfare as hollow on its face.

Joshi closed with a direct demand: the Abdullah family must 'stop their pro-Pakistan talk and start respecting the Indian constitution that gave them their power.' The language is designed to put National Conference leaders on the defensive, forcing a choice between defending the remarks or distancing themselves from them.

With J&K politics never far from the national spotlight, Joshi's intervention ensures this particular exchange will reverberate well beyond a single post — and puts the National Conference on notice that every statement touching Pakistan will be treated as a defining political test.