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2010 unrest worst period of my life: Omar
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Saturday, 8 March 2014
8:11 pm
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‘My dad is not my best friend’
Srinagar: Recalling the summer unrest
of 2010 in which more than 120 people were killed during the protest
demonstrations, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Saturday termed that
period the ‘worst one’ in his life.
“I won’t say that period was the worst one in my entire
political career but it was worst one in my life- it consumed me and changed me
in more ways than one,” said Omar while speaking at the India Today conclave
2014 at New Delhi.
According to the reports received by KNS, Omar stated
that during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir the biggest
lesson he has learnt was that no single problem is smaller in nature and that
the same could any time accumulate into one massive problem like the summer of
2010. “At beginning I was dismissive of the smaller problems but I soon learnt
that those smaller problems can accumulate into one massive problem.”
Recalling the 2010 summer unrest in the state, Omar while
terming that time as ‘terrible’, stated that there was no easy way to get out
of the situation. I don’t really remember that how I used to calm myself down
during that period; said Omar adding that he wanted to put the state back on
its rails and get things back to normal.
Commenting over his relation with his father Dr Farooq
Abdullah, Omar maintained that his father and he himself are not the best
friends and that both are two different individuals. “My father is not my best
friend- we are two different individuals. My dad would quite happily stand up
and do few steps if you ring a bell. I won’t do it, that is not who I am. I
don’t sing and I don’t do shairi (Poetry).”
Commenting over the suspension of the students from one
of the University of Meerut in the recent past after the students cheered for
Pakistan during the Indo-Pak match, Omar observed that on one hand you take
scholarship from Prime Minister of India for the higher studies and on the
other hand they cheer for Pakistan. “It was wrong. What they did was
misguided.” However Omar maintained that the slapping of sedition charges
against students was unnecessary and that the freedom of free speech is what
makes India great.
Omar while expressing his apprehensions stated that the
Meerut episode will be used by BJP as the election tool as they already have
written to the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the dropping of sedition
charges against the students.
Over the issue of alliance with NDA or BJP after the
forthcoming parliamentary polls, Omar clarified that National Conference (NC)
will never forge any alliance with BJP or NDA. “Our relation in the past was
with Atal Bihari Vajpayee who took vital steps for Jammu and Kashmir and
India’s relations with Pakistan.” Declaring that no government in India can
even touch Article 370 with the consent of the state government, Omar
reiterated that BJP is using the demand of abrogation of Article 370 as
‘election slogan’.
Stating that the great step that he strives to take for
the youth of Kashmir is to remove the ‘uncertainty’ from their minds about
their future, Omar said that the development of the tourism industry in the
state would help in generating new job avenues for the youth. Omar also
dismissed the reports about the possible security consequences after the
withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan- stating that he doesn’t buy
that argument that its impact will be on Jammu and Kashmir.
Answering the question about the revocation of Armed
Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) Omar maintained that the fear of consequences
has to be built up in Army operating in Jammu and Kashmir. “We have to make
difference between legal cover and impunity. For sure there will be legal cover
but there has to be the fear of consequences. ” When asked how he spends his
free time, Omar said, “In winter I go up to Gulmarag for ski. I love that
freedom. The good thing in it is that my security person doesn’t know the
skiing- they are learning the same.” Omar added that he loves to watch lot of
American TV shows including Goodwife, Suits and Homeland. (KNS)
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