Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, Dec 17 : Reacting to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s act of pulling a woman’s hijab, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday called it “unacceptable” and “a reflection of a regressive mindset.”
He drew parallels with a past incident involving PDP’s former chief Mehbooba Mufti, saying such public humiliation of women cannot be justified under any circumstance.
Talking to reporters here, CM Omar as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) while commenting on the Bihar hijab incident, said, “During my election, people may have forgotten how Mehbooba Mufti got a legitimate voter’s burqa removed inside a polling station. This is a continuation of the same mindset. What happened then was unfortunate, and this incident is equally shameful.”
He added, “Publicly humiliating another person, especially a woman, cannot be justified. If the Chief Minister did not want to hand over the appointment letter himself, he could have stepped aside. But humiliating someone in front of everyone is completely wrong. Slowly, the reality of Nitish Kumar, who was once considered a secular and sensible leader, seems to be coming out.”
Referring to the ongoing the 17th Annual Convention of Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar, CM Omar said that such meetings provide a significant opportunity to promote adventure tourism. “Activities like trekking, mountaineering and white-water rafting should also be encouraged,” the CM said.
He noted that recently, during a function in Jammu, he had distributed certificates to individuals who had completed paragliding courses, enabling them to now provide paragliding services in Jammu and Kashmir. “Our effort is that gradually, by bringing together different adventure activities, we reclaim our pre-eminent position in adventure tourism a position we once held at the top,” the Chief Minister said.
Asked about promoting rock climbing and introducing such activities along the lines of foreign countries, CM Omar said there is no objection, but safety must be ensured.
He said, “If someone comes forward to organise these activities, we have no problem. However, it must be done safely. What often happens is that people without proper knowledge or experience bring equipment and start conducting rock climbing. As you may have seen recently in Uttarakhand, during a bungee-jumping incident, the rope was not properly secured and the person fell to the ground. We do not want such incidents here, where lives are at risk. Therefore, we will introduce such activities only with proper safety and security measures.”
‘OPEN EXISTING AND VISIBLE TOURIST DESTINATIONS’
On opening hidden tourist destinations, CM Omar said existing and visible destinations should be prioritized first.
“First, open the destinations that are right in front of us. Many places are still closed. On one hand, we talk about promoting tourism, and on the other hand, these areas remain inaccessible. For example, in Gulmarg, the left side of the Gondola is closed; Doodhpathri is completely closed; Drang is not accessible; Ferozpora Nallah was also closed earlier. These places should be opened first,” he said.
‘J&K INHERITED FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS’
Responding to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s remarks on fiscal discipline, CM Omar said Jammu and Kashmir continues to function under inherited financial constraints.
“We are running the system with what we have inherited. J&K is not financially self-reliant and remains heavily dependent on the Government of India. Earlier, as a state, we received a share of central taxes, but after becoming a Union Territory, that share stopped, increasing pressure on our budget,” he said.
However, CM Omar asserted that his government has maintained “financial discipline.” “Despite these challenges, over the past 15–16 months, there has been no financial negligence. If anyone can point out even a single instance where public money has been misused, I am ready to be held accountable,” he added.
PDD DIRECTED TO MINIMIZE POWER CUTS
On electricity shortages in far-flung areas, CM Omar said it would be incorrect to claim that there is no electricity.
“You cannot say there is no electricity, no water, no snow, no rain, or no water in rivers. There have been slightly more power cuts, but the department has been instructed to minimise unscheduled cuts as much as possible. I also make a humble appeal to the people to use electricity judiciously,” he said—(KNO)
