Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday strongly criticised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over an incident involving a Muslim woman’s hijab, terming it “unacceptable” and a sign of a “regressive mindset.”
Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, CM Omar Abdullah, as reported by news agency KNO, said such incidents are not new and drew parallels with a past controversy involving PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti.
“We have seen such incidents before. During my election, people may have forgotten how Mehbooba Mufti got a legitimate voter’s burqa removed inside a polling station. This reflects the same mindset. What happened then was unfortunate, and this incident is equally shameful,” he said.
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CM Omar asserted that publicly humiliating a woman cannot be justified under any circumstances. “If the Chief Minister did not want to hand over the appointment letter himself, he could have stepped aside. But humiliating a woman in public is completely wrong. Slowly, the reality of Nitish Kumar, who was once considered a secular and sensible leader, is coming out,” he added.
Reacting to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s remarks on fiscal discipline of states, CM Omar said Jammu and Kashmir continues to function under severe financial constraints inherited from the past.
“We are running the system with whatever we have inherited. J&K is not financially self-reliant and remains dependent on the Government of India. Earlier, as a state, we received a share of central taxes, but after becoming a Union Territory, that has stopped, putting additional pressure on our budget,” he said.
The Chief Minister maintained that his government has adhered to financial discipline. “Despite challenges, there has been no financial negligence in the past 15–16 months. If anyone can point out even a single case of misuse of public money, I am ready to be held accountable,” CM Omar Abdullah said.
