Stunned by his “azadi” for Kashmir remark, the Congress high command and chief minister Omar Abdullah are reported to have asked Jammu and Kashmir’s health minister Sham Lal Sharma to explain his position over the most controversial statement by a Congress leader in the state government.
Mr Sharma had earlier this week while speaking at a Congress rally at Banni in Kathua district of the state said that giving “azadi” or freedom to Kashmir Valley and making Jammu a separate state and Ladakh a Union Territory was the only solution to the imbroglio.
Chief minister Omar Abdullah, who has sought a copy of the video coverage of the rally, said on Wednesday that due notice has been taken of Mr Sharma’s remark and that appropriate action would follow after analysing contents of his speech. “As far as the minister’s remarks are concerned, due notice has been taken at appropriate quarters,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a function in Jammu. Seeking time to pore over the minister’s statement, the chief minister said, “Please allow us to examine not only the statement but also contents (of the minister’s speech) and after that whatever is to be done will be done.” Mr Sharma who has been targeted for making an “irresponsible” statement tried to justify his “azadi” remark by asserting it was in response to the “venom being spit by senior NC leader and former health and medical education minister Mustafa Kamal.
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Cops quell stone-pelters without force
Age Correspondent
Srinagar
Dec. 8: Prior to and after the killing of a holed up militant, parts of Sopore, in Kashmir, witnessed “azadi” protests and irate mobs clashed with the police and the CRPF. A police spokesperson here said “miscreants” surfaced in the Chan Khan, main town and bus stand areas of Sopore on Wednesday morning and resorted to pelting stones at police and security force personnel. The police, however, exercised maximum restraint brought the situation back to normal without the use of force, he added.