The dispute arose after People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti was observed carrying an inverted national flag during a demonstration in Srinagar on Tuesday evening. I believe the incident involving the national flag must have been a mistake. I cannot accept that someone who has served as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir would deliberately display the national flag upside down," Abdullah stated. The chief minister noted that if the flag was displayed incorrectly by accident, the oversight should simply be conceded. Throughout the protest, Mehbooba held both the Indian national flag and the banner of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir.