Describing repeal of farm laws by the Modi government as an electoral compulsion, PDP leader and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Friday sought a “course correction” in Jammu and Kashmir by restoring statehood and Article 370.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah also grilled the Modi government by saying; “anyone who believes the government repealed the farm laws out of the goodness of its heart was completely mistaken. BJP government only responds to cold hard numbers”.

Mehbooba tweeted; “Desecrating Indian constitution to dismember & disempower J&K was done only to please their voters. I hope they course correct here too & reverse the illegal changes made in J&K since August 2019”.

“Decision to repeal farm laws & an apology is a welcome step, even though it stems from electoral compulsions & fear of drubbing in elections. Ironically that while BJP needs to please people in the rest of India for votes, punishing & humiliating Kashmiris satisfies their major vote bank”, she added.

Decision to repeal farm laws & an apology is a welcome step, even though it stems from electoral compulsions & fear of drubbing in elections. Ironical that while BJP needs to please people in rest of India for votes,punishing & humiliating Kashmiris satisfies their major votebank

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) November 19, 2021

“Anyone who believes the government repealed the #FarmLaws out of the goodness of its heart is completely mistaken. This government only responds to cold hard numbers – bypoll setback = fuel price reduction. Poor internal polls numbers for Western UP & Punjab = #Farmlawsrepealed,” Omar wrote on Twitter.

Veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad welcomed the repeal of farm laws and said many lives of agitating farmers could have been saved if the step had been taken earlier.

Azad told media persons that no government should stand on prestige on laws that the people are not in favour of. It would have been nice had the government maintained the sanctity of the parliament and withdrawn these laws after walkouts by the members and repeated adjournments.