Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Monday called for a unified approach to thwart the designs of communal elements and appealed to political parties to desist from dividing communities for votes.
Addressing the National Integration Council (NIC) meeting here, Omar Abdullah impressed upon the people of all communities to jointly preserve and promote peaceful co-existence of multiple religions, pluralistic ethos and varied cultures.
"We should take a lead in promoting the feeling of oneness and respect for each other. It is the bounden duty of all of us to uphold the fundamentals of the constitution and bridge the trust deficit among different communities to promote national integration," he said.
Referring to the recent communal clash in Kishtwar in the state, the chief minister said that before the 2008 state assembly polls efforts had been made to use the communal card and after the recent violence in Kishtwar attempts were made to spread trouble to other parts of Jammu but his government brought the situation under control.
He said various measures were taken to restore confidence of the different communities.
Omar Abdullah mentioned the cases of communal incidents in Jammu and Kashmir and northeastern states being treated separately in the NIC agenda and questioned: "Why are you treating us separately?"
His query was addressed to Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde. In response to this, Shinde said that this would be kept in mind and rectified in future.
The chief minister said the state has the lowest reported cases of crime against women.
"This is largely due to the moral values and cultural ethos of the society and efforts of the state administration," he said.
