Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday advised the members of the Assembly to avoid making comments on religious affairs that hurt people's sentiments.
Talking to reporters outside the Assembly here, Abdullah also said that nobody should feel that they are not heard in this government. He also expressed confidence of resolving the issue of 39 shopkeepers who have been served notice to pave way for construction of a flyover at Satwari Chowk here.
“They are using the word Jihad (holy war) in everything but they get angry when any other member speaks about their religion. It is better to avoid talking about something which hurts the religious feelings of others,” the chief minister said.
He was responding to a question about senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma using the term “legislative Jihad” to provide protection to alleged illegal encroachers during his speech.
“Every individual has a religious feeling and the BJP leaders were angry (in the House) because one member probably made some wrong statement which he should not have done. But what LoP wants to convey by using the word ‘Jihad’ repeatedly is that Muslims do not know anything except Jihad. This is also wrong,” Abdullah said.
The Assembly witnessed noisy scenes on Thursday when several BJP members repeatedly charged towards the treasury benches to take on AAP legislator Mehraj Malik, accusing him of using derogatory words against Hindus and also disrupting the speeches of the opposition members in the House.
Malik said his remarks that some Hindus consume liquor during their parties and festivals were taken out of proportion as he was trying to condemn the opening of more liquor shops in the city over the past five years.
On LoP’s remarks that people from Haryana are welcome in J&K, the chief minister said he had no objection if he settled them at his home in Kishtwar.
On the alleged suicide by BJP leader and former independent MLA from Gurez, Faqeer Mohammad Khan in Srinagar, the chief minister termed it as “very unfortunate” and said they do not know what led him to take such an extreme step.
“I informed the House about this (incident). He probably used the rifle of his PSO (personal security officer). Along with his family, I condole his death and pray for his soul. We do not know what led him to take such an extreme step but we have full sympathy with them,” Abdullah said.