Author: TNN
Publication: The Times of India
Date: April 6, 2017
URL:   http://toi.in/q_MGjZ/a18fg

CRPF braveheart Chetan Cheetah's wife Uma Singh today hit out at National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah for calling stone pelters in Jammu & Kashmir as 'nationalists'.

"Stone pelters have been the biggest hurdle for our armed forces in securing the place (Kashmir)," Uma Singh told ANI.

Yesterday, Abdullah had come out in support of Kashmir youths who threw rocks at security personnel in the valley, saying they were doing so for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent plea to "misguided" Kashmiri youngsters - to choose between tourism or terrorism - Abdullah said, "If he (stone pelting youth) is giving up his life, he is not doing it for tourism.

He is giving his life so that the destiny of this nation is decided which should be acceptable to the people of this place."

Uma, who is the daughter of an army officer, responded to the former chief minister's remarks thus: "If Mr Farooq Abdullah says stone pelters are nationalists, then we need to ponder who are anti-nationals?"

Abdullah, who is contesting the by-polls to Srinagar Lok Sabha seat as the joint candidate of opposition National Conference and Congress, also faced flak from politicians, who said his defence of stone pelters was aimed at making electoral gains.

"It is quite worrisome ... a politician of the stature of Abdullah has also come under pressure of upcoming polls and therefore has felt tempted to speak the language of the separatists," said union minister Jitendra Singh.

J&K deputy chief minister Nirmal Kumar Singh slammed the NC leader's statement as "anti-national."

"I'm sure people of Kashmir aren't going to get misled by his statements which are anti-national; it's condemnable," he said.

CRPF commander Chetan Cheetah, who was shot nine times during an encounter with terrorists in J&K, was discharged from AIIMS yesterday after battling for his life for nearly two months. His wife Uma has been by his side since the near-fatal encounter, and said the journey is not yet over and the final reward for her would be the day when her husband would don his uniform and go to work.