Srinagar : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, complaining against the Army’s public criticism of him and his government and consistent interference in policy issues related to the state. “I don’t want to respond to this (statement) publicly. I have already written to the Prime Minister today and taken up the matter seriously,” Omar told The Indian Express.
Relations between the Army and the state Government have been sour ever since Omar raised his government’s pitch on the demand for withdrawal or an amendment to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. The latest row was triggered by a statement issued and later withdrawn by Lt Col Pradeep Kochhar, Public Relations Officer of the Northern Command based at Udhampur.
In the statement, the Army has termed the decision to thin out security forces from urban areas as Omar Abdullah’s “political compulsion” and a reason for the recent encounter with militants in Srinagar city. The statement questions “the talk of removing AFSPA from Srinagar and asks as to “how will those in power justify to the people if there are a few more incidents like this?”.
(Courtesy : www.indianexpress.com, 02/12/2010)
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