KASHMIR NEWS TRUST #KNT
National Conference leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said that there is virtually no democracy in Jammu and Kashmir. He said democracy ends where Jammu and Kashmir begins.
Omar Abdullah’s remarks came against the backdrop of having no elected government in Jammu and Kashmir for the last five years. Jammu Kashmir has completed 5 years under central rule today.
On 19 June 2018, Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti submitted her resignation as Jammu and Kashmir chief minister to the then-state governor N N Vohra after BJP pulled out of alliance with PDP. Since then, New Delhi has been directly ruling the erstwhile state.
Taking a dig at the BJP led Central Government, Omar Abdullah sarcastically stated that it is being claimed that India is the mother of democracy but democracy ends where J&K begins.
Taking to micro-blogging site Omar Abdullah wrote on Twitter: “Democracy is in our veins, it is in our culture’; ‘India is the mother of democracy’; ‘India is the temple of democracy’. Great sounding words that the international community lap up & regurgitate ad-nauseam. Meanwhile J&K completes 5 years under central rule today. Democracy ends where J&K begins.”
In response to this, National Conference spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said that if this continues, this second-longest stint of President’s Rule will soon become the longest ever. The first one was for 5 years and 9 months between 1990-96 when the situation was very volatile. Today GoI says J&K is normal, then what stops them from giving power back to the people of J&K? [KNT]
