J&K uproar: BJP MLAs demand Omar Abdullah apology over ‘shoe’ remark

Srinagar: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Wednesday raised slogans of "unparliamentary sarkaar" after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah entered the House.

The protests came amid ongoing tensions following repeated disruptions in the Assembly on Tuesday.

BJP legislators have been demanding an apology from Omar Abdullah for remarks he made about them during the previous session. Leader of the Opposition and BJP MLA Sunil Sharma said he has written to the Speaker, alleging biased conduct by the House.


"I have written to the Speaker that his functioning is biased. The Speaker allows ruling-party MLAs to disrupt and interrupt. I have written to the Speaker that he is working in a biased manner," Sunil Sharma told ANI.

Earlier on Tuesday, while addressing the Assembly, Omar Abdullah criticised the India-US interim trade agreement, claiming it would adversely affect horticulture and agriculture in Jammu and Kashmir. During his speech, he also took a swipe at BJP MLAs, remarking that there had been a noticeable change in their attitude following Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent visit to the region.

"India-US trade deal is bad for J&K and will affect horticulture and agriculture in J&K. There has been a change in your attitude; it seems that by the time the Home Minister arrived, you people got a shoe beating," Abdullah said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary defended the Chief Minister, stating that Omar Abdullah does not use language intended to send a wrong message or hurt anyone. He accused the BJP of initiating the disruptions in the Assembly.

"Omar sahib never uses language which might send a wrong message or hurt anyone. Everything that happened in the Assembly yesterday was started by the BJP. There are so many issues to discuss, such as Mata Vaishno Devi and employment opportunities in Katra...Was the language used by a BJP MLA in the Assembly acceptable?...The BJP has no agenda to speak on...Are they taking up any issues related to J&K?," he told reporters.