Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday issued a stern warning against misinterpreting his administration's "politeness as weakness", remarks which came a day after he was allegedly "manhandled" by police while he tried to pay tributes to the 22 people killed by the Dogra army in 1931.
Abdullah also demanded accountability from Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for an admitted intelligence failure in the Pahalgam terror attack.
The chief minister's comments, which came during the inauguration of a new block of the Bones and Joints hospital, were reinforced by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, who also demanded an apology from the Lt Governor for the "manhandling" of Abdullah during an event to pay Martyrs Day tributes on Monday.
"Some people think that we are weak because we don't indulge in threats and intimidation, but I want to tell them that we are not weak," Abdullah said while addressing the function.
"Don't mistake our politeness for weakness. We will not trade the dreams and hopes (for he restoration of statehood) of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. We are not here due to someone's favour... it is the Almighty and the voters of Jammu and Kashmir."
Abdullah also reacted to Lt Governor's remarks in a newspaper interview, where Sinha admitted that the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people occurred due to intelligence failure and accepted responsibility.
"After 80 days, it is better late than never," Abdullah later told reporters, stressing that now that an intelligence failure has been acknowledged, responsibility must be fixed.
"It cannot happen that 26 people lose their lives and there is no progress ...someone has to be held responsible for that."
Political tensions were amplified by Monday's events, in which Abdullah claimed he was subjected to "physical grappling" after he scaled the gates of the Naqshband Sahib graveyard to pay tribute to the 22 people killed by the Dogra army in 1931.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary took a strong stance on the matter, calling on the Lt Governor to apologise not to the leaders, but to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
"The Lt Governor should apologise for what happened yesterday," Choudhary said, adding, "He should seek an apology from the people who gave us the mandate, from the Constitution and from Indian democracy."
He described the police action as a "disrespect" to democracy, saying that what happened to an "elected chief minister" was an "insult" to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Choudhary also referred to Sinha'a admission on the Pahalgam attack, saying Sinha remembered "after 82 days that he is responsible for the security lapse" and that "one day he will accept that what the police, which is under his control, did with Omar Abdullah was wrong."
He emphasised that the 1931 "martyrs" fought against British rule, not India, and what happened to them was "oppression".