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| Omar's New Delhi house generates heat, other CM's too want house in national capital | | Another hullabaloo! | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
JAMMU, Nov 15: Controversies seem to be following tech-savvy Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wherever he goes.
From the corridors of civil secretariat to the corners of his official residence, Omar has been in news for all wrong reasons. In the latest episode, Chief Minister's of three Indian states have asked congress led UPA government to explain reasons for allowing Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir to stay at 7-Akbar Road house, the official residence which was allotted to Omar when he was Member of Parliament (MP).
Sources in New Delhi said that the three Chief Minister, two of whom are from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and one belonging to a regional party of a particular state have expressed deep anguish over alleged preferential treatment being meted out to them. They have accused union government of bypassing rules and regulations for their chosen ones. They have even written to the Union Home Minister and even Prime Minister.
These Chief Ministers have asked their respective party presidents to take up the issue with union government at the highest level and ensure similar housing arrangements for them at New Delhi. One of the Chief Minister's has in his letter, a copy of which is with Early
Times, has requested for carving out a colony for Chief Minister's of respective states so that none feels victimized or in other words discriminated.
In a lighter vein, the Chief Minister has said "If Omar Sahab has been allowed to retain his official residence at New Delhi due to the special status which the state of Jammu and Kashmir enjoys in the Indian constitution, then my protest is unwarranted. But if there is no such case, which I am sure, he should be told to vacate the same or similar such residential allotments should be made for us also."
He has gone on to say "I am Chief Minister of a state which enjoys the status of being the fastest developing state of the country. I should be accommodated ahead of all the Chief Ministers." The other two Chief Minister's have also written letters to the Union government in almost the same tone and tenor. However, sources disclosed that union government has preferred silence over taking action.
They said that the issue is more than a year old now. "Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's government accommodation in New Delhi is being unnecessarily made an issue. He is not the first Chief Minister to have such a residence. The practice was first started by former Chief Minister and presently, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad," said an official in New Delhi.
He added that when Azad became Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, he expressed the desire of retaining his residential accommodation at 5-South Avenue. "Azad sahab had genuine reasons. He had no house in J&K. His family had been living in New Delhi since 1991 and his children were not willing to shift to Srinagar. In comparison to that, Omar has palatial residential accommodation both in Srinagar and Jammu," added the Union government official.
He informed that Azad went in for an agreement with Central Public Works Department (CPWD). "Azad sahab gave CPWD a state owned and highly significant palatial bungalow at 5-Kotla Lane and retained his South Avenue house in exchange. The Kotla Lane bungalow was of some significance as Sheikh Abdullah used to stay there when he was under house arrest," asserted the official.
However, when Omar Abdullah became Member of Parliament (MP), he was allotted the 7-Akbar Road house and the Chief Minister, seemingly unaware of the significance of 5-Kotla Lane bungalow, accepted the Akbar road house and did not vacate even after he became Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. |
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