Criticising senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley for singling out Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today raised questions on the BJP leader's not visiting communal riot-hit Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh.
"Why did Arun Jaitley not go to Muzaffarnagar where there were riots - why has he singled out Jammu and Kashmir - I had no problem in allowing him to go to Kishtwar - but situation did not allow," Omar said at a function of students here.
Replying to a question of a student at Gandhi Nagar Women's College here on why he did not allow the BJP leader to visit Kishtwar, Omar said "Jaitley had singled out Jammu and Kashmir - he should have equal concern for rest of the country. The visits could have aggravated the situation. I stopped the Deputy Chief Minister from going there - I requested Soz sahib from going there - and also stopped my own party colleagues from travelling there."
Arun Jaitley, who had planned to lead a party team to Kishtwar on August 11, was stopped by authorities at Jammu Airport and was not allow to proceed.
"One needs to rely on one's own judgement as well as on others - you have to understand situations - during the past four and half years, we have faced extreme difficulties - we have faced agitations in 2008 in Jammu and in Kashmir in 2010 - we know how much politics can be played in this sort of situation," he said.
"The question is not about allowing somebody - we had priorities - first, to restore clam in Kishtwar and second, to make sure trouble did not spread to other parts of Jammu," the Chief Minister said.
