Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, could easily write a best-selling spy thriller.
It was, after all, his little investigative work that alerted the media to a top secret meeting between BJP general secretary Ram Madhav and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti in Srinagar over government formation in the state which has been under Governor's Rule for over a month.
Here's what happened.
Abdullah used his smartphone's flight-tracker app to infer that something was up between the two political parties.
"Unscheduled flight VTJSG just landed in Srinagar after normal operation hours. Something is cooking with the PDP-BJP government formation," he tweeted.
Unscheduled flight VTJSG just landed in Srinagar after normal operation hours. Something is cooking with the PDP-BJP government formation.
— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) February 17, 2016
Even as he was tweeting, Madhav, who arrived in a chartered plane in Srinagar, was preparing to visit the residence of Mufti for a meeting to thrash out the terms of the coalition government. Madhav's visit was kept a closely-guarded secret. PTI reported that even the state leaders of BJP and senior leaders of the PDP were not aware of the meeting.
A smug Abdullah, thoroughly enjoying his handiwork, tweeted:
Now we know who was in that chartered flight :) https://t.co/0YBqsa7EYo
— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) February 17, 2016
"It's amazing what the occasional alert on a flight tracker app will produce. Next time fly under the radar," he tweeted to National Conference's state spokesperson, Junaid Azim Mattu.
@Junaid_Mattu it's amazing what the occasional alert on a flight tracker app will produce. Next time fly under the radar :-)
— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) February 17, 2016
Mattu also said that the CID was pulled out from the Srinagar Airport ahead of the arrival of Madhav.
The Madhav - Mehbooba meeting was planned to be kept a secret. Hence the late evening flight. CID was pulled out from Airport. Alas exposed.
— Junaid Azim Mattu (@Junaid_Mattu) February 17, 2016
The marvels of modern technology!
Abdullah, an enthusiastic tweeter, responded to a story that compared him to James Bond with "Neither shaken nor stirred!"
:) neither shaken nor stirred though https://t.co/sdM21kn3SF
— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) February 18, 2016
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