 Early Times Report
Jammu, Apr 9: Amid the growing political uproar over his photographs with Union Minister Kiren Rijiju at Srinagar’s Tulip Garden, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday pushed back against the People's Democratic Party (PDP), accusing it of manufacturing controversy over what he termed a "chance meeting."
Reacting sharply to the criticism, Omar questioned the narrative being spun around the photographs, asserting that the encounter was purely coincidental and that common courtesy should not be politicized.
“How could I possibly disrespect or insult a Union Minister who simply requested a photograph during a chance meeting at the Tulip Garden?” Omar asked while speaking to reporters.
Recounting the sequence of events from Monday morning, Omar said that he and his father, National Conference president Dr. Farooq Abdullah, had gone to visit the Tulip Garden like many other citizens enjoying the seasonal bloom. Upon their arrival, they discovered that Union Minister Kiren Rijiju was already present at the location.
“We greeted each other with a customary ‘hello’, as any civil interaction would go,” the Chief Minister recalled. “Following that, Rijiju expressed a desire to take a picture together. Out of respect for his position and as a matter of basic courtesy, I agreed.”
Omar clarified that there was nothing pre-arranged or planned about the meeting, dismissing PDP’s allegations of a deliberate engagement with the Union Minister. “It would have been both inappropriate and disrespectful to deny the request of a visiting Union Minister,” he said.
He further emphasized that reading political meaning into such a brief and casual interaction was “unjustified and misleading,” particularly at a time when Jammu and Kashmir needs focus on development and governance rather than “petty political distractions.”
“The truth is simple: it was a chance meeting at a public place. There's no need to make a mountain out of a molehill,” Omar concluded. |
