Srinagar, Sept. 10 -- National Conference (NC) MLA and chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq triggered a row after claiming that poverty in Kashmir was so severe before the party founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah's movement that an entire village would share a single pair of trousers.

Sadiq's remarks, which he made to highlight the NC's legacy of land reforms and socio-economic uplift, drew sharp criticism from opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Both parties dismissed the remarks as arrogant, degrading the cultural and historic identity of the Kashmiri people and demanded a public apology.

The remarks have also sparked widespread ridicule on social media, with several users sharin...