"Don't know why he had to raise this:" Farooq Abdullah on Azad's 'Hinduism existed before Islam' remark

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], August 18 : In a reaction to Democratic Progressive Azad Party chief, Ghulam Nabi Azad's 'Hinduism existed before Islam' remark, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said that he has no idea why he had to raise the issue given the fact that he knows the history of the state.   
"I don't know why he had to raise this. He knows the history of the state...It is for him to answer what was the necessity of bringing another thing to the front," Farooq Abdullah said on Friday speaking on Ghulam Nabi Azad's recent statement that has stirred up a controversy.
Speaking to reporters, Farooq Abdullah further said that he is confident that the Supreme Court will give justice to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
"Everyone is presenting their case in front of the Honourable Supreme Court. Earlier also, two judgements have been given by the Supreme Court in favour of Article 370. We are all confident that if our lawyers put the case before them they will look at it justly and give justice to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh," the National Conference president said.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Democratic Progressive Azad Party chief, Ghulam Nabi Azad had earlier said that "Hindu Religion is much older than Islam in India. Muslims in our country are because of conversion from Hindus and in Kashmir all Muslims were converted from Kashmiri Pandits. Everybody is born in Hindu Dharma only."
Earlier on Sunday, Ghulam Nabi Azad said that those opposing the abrogation of Article 370 are ignorant of the history and geography of the Union territory.
He made the remark amid the Supreme Court hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity behind the Centre's move on August 5, 2019, to strip the erstwhile state of its special status guaranteed under Article 370.