Under fire from opposition over Kishtwar violence, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said some national leaders exhibit a peculiar mindset and treat people of the state differently with a biased approach.
“It is most unfortunate on the part of these leaders to discriminate Jammu and Kashmir vis -a-vis other states and show biased approach while dealing with similar matters (read Kishtwar) in J&K and the rest of the country,” Omar said after unfurling the Tricolour at Bakshi Stadium, the main venue of Independence Day function here.
Armed with data, Omar said Kishtwar like clashes between two groups of Hindu and Muslims claimed 34 lives in UP, 13 in Maharashtra, 15 in Madhya Pradesh, three in Karnataka, six in Rajasthan, five in Gujarat in 2012 and again eight in Maharashtra, one in MP, two in Rajasthan and 2 in Gujarat in 2013 besides some more deaths in Bihar recently.
“Why these national leaders didn’t show any concern over these incidents, initiated debates in the parliament and on TV channels, tried to rush to the spots, tweeted, wrote columns in newspapers and created hype,” he said without naming BJP and other parties.
Omar minced no words in blaming these leaders for treating people of J&K “differently, considering them separate identity and dealing with them in a biased approach”
“I was once asked why people of Jammu and Kashmir think themselves different from the rest of the country and away from the mainstream. I got the reply to this question by the approach and treatment shown by these national leaders regarding Kishtwar incident,” he said.
Even as Omar spewed fire, curfew in Kishtwar district continued for seventh day in a row on Thursday. However, curfew was lifted elsewhere in Jammu following improvement in the situation. Authorities also restored the mobile internet in Jammu and Kashmir after six days.
