Sikhs rescued Kashmiri students from mobs, not Modi: Omar Abdullah

“The work which was to be done by Prime minister was undertaken by our Sikh brothers. Our Sikh brothers came out and carried out the rescue operation. They secured the lives of our youth studying outside state,” Abdullah said while addressing a rally at Kwaja Bagh here on Tuesday.

“Now it is for us to make certain if we want to let the situation continue as it is. Our children are being attacked across the country. The tourist industry too is in a shambles. Our kids were being attacked upon and intimidated in Uttarakhand, Punjab and other places. We, unfortunately, didn’t see any action or word of condemnation coming from Prime Minister for 10 days,” the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.

“For past four years we have seen our special position being under attack. Do we desire to see our kids being intimidated, if not, then we have to make sure that BJP-PDP is given a befitting reply in the forthcoming LS elections," he said.

“Do we want such people in power who intimidate us; do we want such people in power those who couldn’t represent our aspirations? Do we want such people again in power who couldn’t protect the sanctity of our state flag? It was in her tenure that an order was passed to hoist state flag on government building. However, the order was repealed by her in just two days," he added.

Abdullah questioned: "What good was achieved in his stint as chief minister was put into an abyss by the former PDP-BJP coalition government in the state?."

“Today we see forces thickly guarding every unit area of our highways. Private transport is not allowed to ply near the army vehicular fleet, other vehicles aren’t allowed to drive within fifty meters of the convoy. This is what BJP-PDP has done to our sense of security, our highways. Today it takes 2 hours to reach Baramulla from Srinagar, such is the situation,” he said.

Flaying a section of national media for drumming the beats of war, Abdullah said: “Those who speak of war sitting in TV studios don’t know the repercussions of war. It is the people of our state that has to bear the brunt of tense situation between India and Pakistan. It is the people of our state who directly come in the line of fire between India and Pakistan. Those pitching for war don’t suffer from the consequences of it.”

Hitting out at PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, Abdullah said, “How can PDP and its president save the special status of state? Look at her five years in power. The GST bill we have been resisting was implanted by her only. The new tax regime has affected hoteliers, taxi drivers, craftsmen, edibles, books and other marginal traders. We have cautioned her about the implementation of GST but she didn’t heed our pleas. There has been steep increase in the price of cooking gas cylinders; poor families find it very difficult to refill their cooking gas cylinders. How can PDP protect our special status, it was PDP that destroyed the financial autonomy of our state?”