CM Omar advises politicians not to comment on religious issues

STC NEWS DESK
SRINAGAR, AUGUST 21 (STC):
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday asked political leaders to refrain from commenting on religious matters and focus on issues concerning common people.
He was responding to recent remarks of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) and BJP senior leader Sunil Sharma and cautioned politicians against playing with public sentiments.
Referring to Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi staging a sit-in to get a FIR registered in use of pellet guns during protests in New Delhi, CM Omar said, “ He (Rahul) is doing what is expected of an Opposition leader by questioning the government and seeking to make it answerable.”
“He is the Leader of the Opposition. He is not the leader of the religion. Leave religious issues to the religious leaders. Keep your issues to the politicians. I would like him to continue doing that, because this is the job of the Opposition,” he added.
The Chief Minister said, “I have not heard you ask the Opposition leader of Jammu and Kashmir why you ask questions again and again in vain. When he does it, you enjoy it. When Rahul Gandhi does it, you say, why is he doing it?”
Asked about the shrinking green spaces in Kashmir, Omar said the government could not stop people from building houses but stressed the need to minimise the land used for construction. “We cannot tell people not to build houses. But we tell people to use as little land as possible,” he said.
CM Omar said land, once lost to construction, could not be restored and therefore development has to be balanced with environmental protection.
CM Omar said people should be able to construct homes while making every possible effort to preserve green spaces.

(Straight Talk Communications)