Owais Gul
Srinagar, Sep 24: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said the people of Jammu and Kashmir cannot be punished for the defeat of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the region.
Speaking with reporters here, CM Omar said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir were promised a three-way process including delimitation, election and statehood.
He said statehood has not been restored due to the BJP’s defeat in the assembly elections last year. “The people of J&K cannot be punished for the BJP’s defeat,” he added.
The CM said the biggest challenge at present is that J&K is not a State. “We hoped that statehood would be restored, given the promises made to the people. Even the Supreme Court was told about its restoration after the three-way process,” he said.
Omar further said that the tourist footfall has not increased the way they expected after the recent pilgrimages. “Every sector has been facing losses in the absence of the expected tourist footfall. However, our efforts are still on to attract tourists to Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.
Reacting to the controversy over the use of the ‘I Love Muhammad’ slogan, the Chief Minister said there was nothing wrong with it as the people from other religious communities also display the names of their religious Gurus and Gods.
“There was nothing provocative in this slogan and only the people who lack mindset can oppose it,” he said, adding that like other religious communities, Muslims too have every right to express their love towards the Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
Omar called for respecting the religious sentiments of each other.
