Srinagar: After days of acrimonious scenes on beef ban issue which saw an Independent MLA being assaulted by BJP members, Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Friday unanimously passed a resolution proposed by Omar Abdullah, appealing to people of the state to maintain communal harmony.
As soon as the Question Hour ended, opposition NC leader Omar Abdullah said a deliberate attempt is being made to destroy the amity and harmony of the state. Citing yesterday’s attack on MLA Sheikh Abdul Rashid, he said it was not the real face of the state and that the House should pass a resolution to send a message that people should maintain harmony and brotherhood, a suggestion quickly endorsed by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed who praised Omar for his initiative.
Mufti Mohammad was all praise for Omar’s grandfather and National Conference founder Shiekh Mohammad Abdullah saying the stalwart of Jammu and Kashmir politics took a stand on secular politics much before partition in 1947. “It was in the Sopore convention of 1938 when the fight for independence was still ongoing in the subcontinent that National Conference took a stand. In 1947, when migrants from other Kashmir (PoK) came here, the people in Bijbehara welcomed them with milk and water,” Sayeed said.
The Chief Minister said Jammu and Kashmir gave a “shield of secularism to India and there was no reason we should be distancing ourselves from it.” Sayeed said extremism was in favour of no one and needs to be curbed. (PTI)
