Mohammad Akbar Lone, the senior National Conference (NC) MP who was recently asked by the Supreme Court to swear allegiance to the Constitution, remains a hugely popular leader in the Sonawari constituency in north Kashmir. However, his brusque remarks and uncouth behaviour have frequently landed him in controversies. His son, Hilal, too has drawn flak for his off-the-cuff remarks.
Mr. Lone, 75, holds a law degree from Aligarh Muslim University. A former three-time MLA, Mr. Lone, as the Speaker of the J&K Assembly in 2012, entered into a verbal duel and used unpleasant language for a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader in the House. The video, which saw millions of hits on social media platforms, is still being used to create memes.
In 2009, he got into an altercation with PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and had her marshalled out of the Assembly. He would frequently enter into heated arguments with the Opposition leaders inside the Assembly.
In 2013, Mr. Lone abused Opposition leaders during a board meeting in Bandipora and said that “they were not worth even the shoe soles of Omar Abdullah [NC vice-president]“.
As the Speaker of the J&K Assembly, he summoned a journalist of a newspaper for a “distasteful” headline.
In 2018, Mr. Lone was seen shouting back at BJP MLAs with ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans, apparently in response to their ‘Pakistan Murdabad’ slogans. Later, Mr. Lone clarified that he shouted at the BJP MLAs for being anti-Muslim and using Pakistan as “a backhanded phrase to denigrate Muslims living in India”.
In his home constituency, which has borne the brunt of militancy in the 1990s and saw scores of youth disappearing to become militants, Mr. Lone was loathed by both militants as well as government-backed counter-insurgents “for sticking to his ideology and the party”, Nazir Ahmad Wagay, a supporter of Mr. Lone, said.
Mr. Lone escaped a number of attacks on his life. The Sonawari constituency is home to one of the poorest pockets of the Valley. His supporters see in Mr. Lone as “someone who gets to their level to understand their problems”.
In 2021, Mr. Lone’s son, Hilal, was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for a speech during the District Development Council (DDC) elections.
“Their ‘mathas’ produce ‘avatars’, our ‘madrasas’ are accused of producing only terrorists. They call us terrorists. A definition of terrorism is to create fear in minds. But who has created fear? Who?” Mr. Hilal said in the speech. He was later arrested.
However, despite the controversies, the Lones remain hugely popular in their constituency. The NC banks on the Lones to expand their voter base in north Kashmir.
