SRINAGAR — Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today launched a searing attack on the Lieutenant Governor-led administration for once again attempting to stop National Conference leaders from visiting Naqashband Sahib in Srinagar’s old city to pay tribute to the martyrs of July 13, 1931.
A day after widespread restrictions and house detentions, Omar, accompanied by his father and NC president Farooq Abdullah, the Deputy Chief Minister, Cabinet Ministers, and senior party leaders, visited the Martyrs’ Graveyard and offered Fatiha and floral tributes.
“It is very sad that the people who would themselves claim that their responsibility is only security and law and order, as per their clear instruction, we were not allowed to offer Fatiha here yesterday. Everyone was kept locked up in their homes early in the morning,” Omar told reporters at the graveyard.
Recalling yesterday’s events, Omar said, “When the gates began to open, I told the Control Room that I wanted to visit the graveyard to offer the Fatiha. Within minutes, a bunker was set up outside my gate and it was not removed until midnight.”
He said today, he did not inform the authorities about his plan to visit the graveyard. “I sat in the car without informing them. Look at their shamelessness. Even today, they tried to stop us. They parked their vehicle in the Nowhatta square and set up a CRPF bunker in front of it. They also tried to manhandle. The police who wear uniforms sometimes forget the law. I want to ask them under what law they tried to stop us today. If there was a restriction, it was for yesterday,” he asked.
“They say that this is a free country. But sometimes they think that we are their slaves. We are not anyone’s slaves. If we are slaves, then we are the slaves of the people here. If we are servants, then we are the servants of the people here,” Omar added.
Omar said the authorities had tried but failed to stop the National Conference leaders from paying respects to the martyrs today.
“They wear uniforms and destroy the law. I don’t understand this. But we failed their attempts. They tried to detain us. They tried to tear our flag. But all their attempts were unsuccessful today. We came here and offered the Fatiha.”
The Chief Minister said the administration was mistaken if it believed it could erase the significance of Martyrs’ Day by restricting access to the graveyard on July 13.
“They forget that these graves belong to our martyrs. They are here all year long. How long will they stop us? We will come here whenever we want. And we will remember these martyrs,” he asserted.
Martyrs’ Day, which was earlier observed as an official public holiday in Jammu and Kashmir, was removed from the government calendar by the LG administration after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. Since then, political leaders have repeatedly been barred from visiting the graveyard on this day.
https://kashmirpulse.com/politics/after-house-detention-omar-visits-martyrs-graveyard-alleges-bid-to-block-entry/113102.html
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