Bengaluru: A war of words began on Twitter as Congress leader from Kashmir Salman Nizami, known to be close to former president of the party Rahul Gandhi, took to the social site to blame the BJP for the painful exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley in 1990.

Nizami had tweeted – ‘‘Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits was BJP’s game plan - to polarise India. The community was made a scapegoat. BJP was in alliance with VP Singh Govt. The main characters were played by Advani, Vajpaee, Mufti & Jagmohan. This is harsh reality!’’.

He had even posted a video on his Twitter handle in which noted film director Mahesh Bhatt can be heard during an interview with Aljazeera as saying – ‘‘To hate the Muslims is the life line of the BJP. Let’s not mince our words’’.

Responding to his tweets, several Kashmiri Pandits called out and educated him on the reality of the exodus and the terror they had to face from the ‘‘Pak-backed Islamists’’ in Kashmir. 

Rajiv Pandit, a surgeon in response to Salman’s tweets wrote – ‘‘I’m a Kashmiri Pandit. My relatives were murdered, survived assassination attempts, & fled when they heard thousands chanting slogans like “Kashmir mai agar rehna hai, Allah ho Akbar kehna hai.” No that wasn’t the BJP, you fool. They were terrorists fighting Pakistan’s proxy war.’’

Another Pandit wrote – ‘‘Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits was islamofascist game plan - to start islamic rule in Kashmir. The community was made a scapegoat. Islamofascist forces were in alliance with Pakistani establishments & JKNC, INC. The main characters were played by Mufti, Abdullah, Rajiv G & Hurriat gang.’’

Rajiv Pandit further wrote, ‘‘The BJP asked us to leave the valley? Then on 8th March, 1990, why did all the valley newspapers post this PR from Jagmohan asking us to not leave the valley? This one is from Daily Excelsior. And it wasn't the BJP in power, it was VP Singh and Janata Dal. Before that, Rajiv Gandhi. Here was the 1989 election breakdown, to refresh your memory.’’

To which Nizami responded – ‘‘BJP was in power & they couldn’t ensure security to you & your family. Instead of fighting the militants they asked you to leave the valley. The plan was clear, communalise & win elections!’’

Journalist and anchor Aditya Raj Kaul replied – ‘‘Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits was an Islamist terror conspiracy. Repeat. Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits was an Islamist terror conspiracy. No amount of desperate whitewashing by Congress, Islamists or Communists would ever change that truth. Remember that always.’’

Aditya went on to say – ‘‘Mehboob Makhdoomi is no authority on Kashmiri Pandits or Kashmir. I am a Kashmiri Pandit and I lost home forever due to Islamist Terrorism. I have faced it myself.’’

After being trolled on Twitter, Nizami said, ‘‘Abuse me, but bhakts cant change the fact that BJP was in power in Centre in 1990 when Kashmiri Pandit exodus took place. The BJP did not say a word in Parliament. Mufti Syed was Home Minister. They didn’t ensure security to KPs. It did not withdraw support from VP Singh Govt! Call me anti-national, abuse me as much you want. But for how long you will use Kashmiri Pandits for vote bank? Have some SHAME!’’

Salman Nizami is close to Rahul Gandhi and was reportedly appointed as the Joint Secretary of the J&K Pradesh Congress Committee in 2014 at his behest. He had even campaigned for the Congress in Gujarat in 2017.