Omar hails, Tharoor flays Modi’s plan to spend Diwali with Kashmir’s flood-hit people

SRINAGAR/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday appreciated Narendra Modi’s gesture to spend Diwali with people of the flood-affected state, while Congress MP Shashi Tharoor disapproved of the Prime Minister’s plan.
In an apparent reference to opposition PDP, the chief minister said those questioning the timing of Prime Minister’s visit on Diwali instead of Eid, would also be cursing the government due to restrictions necessitated by either strike called by the separatists or security arrangements made for such high profile visits.
Security has been beefed up here and across the Valley as separatists called for a general strike on Thursday against the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
. Special checking points have been set up at various places in the city including entry and exit points as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order. The move was aimed at foiling any attempt by militants to strike in the city ahead or during the Prime Minister’s visit, he said.
The Prime Minister on Tuesday said that he would spend Diwali, the festival of lights, in flood-hit Srinagar.   This will be his fourth visit to Jammu and Kashmir since taking charge as Prime Minister in May. While the announcement of the Prime Minister generated hope among the flood survivors of a comprehensive package from the centre to rebuild their lives, two factions of Hurriyat Conference have called for a general strike and peaceful protests against the visit of the Prime Minister.
“Government of India acted as the mute spectator amid worst ever floods in Kashmir and did nothing to mitigate the sufferings of the affected on ground…we will not allow anyone to rub salt into our wounds,”  It said when Modi had not even felicitated Muslims on Eid, his celebrating Diwali in the Muslim-majority state is “unacceptable”. Shabir Ahmad Shah led faction of Hurriyat Conference also called for a general strike tomorrow and asked people to hold peaceful demonstrations against Modi’s visit. (PTI)