Srinagar, Sept. 9 -- Tanvir Sadiq, the National Conference MLA from Zadibal and the party's chief spokesperson, has stirred a political storm with a remark about Kashmir's past poverty.

Speaking on the 44th death anniversary of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, he said poverty had once reached such a level that people in some localities shared a single pair of trousers by turns.

The remark quickly moved from a historical reference to a social-media spectacle, drawing criticism from the BJP and PDP.

Sadiq later explained that his reference was meant to underline the poverty of the peasantry under the Dogra system and the significance of Sheikh Abdullah's land reforms.

The historical record supports the larger point about agrarian inequality. S...