Kashmir warning mobilises Omar Cabinet, Jammu floods don’t: LoP, Public raises uneasy questions

Jammu, Sept 03: As Jammu region struggles to come to terms with the devastating rains that left its people reeling under what could easily be noted as the worst natural disaster to hit the region in a long, long time, the picture is still muddy on several counts.
While there has been no denying that the government’s response to this once-in-a-century disaster was tepid, the argument has been stirred again, especially after a picture of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah standing far behind Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Leader of Opposition in Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Sunil Sharma—overlooking a flooded Tawi—went viral.
As the discussions rolled in, with different interpretations of the picture, Leader of Opposition, Sunil Sharma has made bold assertion, claiming that Chief Minister falling behind Shah, SInha and Sharma himself was not a cause of the so-called ‘dual power centre’ in the Union Territory, but rather ‘a disinterested, elected head of the region’.
The observers affirm that the Chief Minister’s Office remained conspicuously silent in action and absent on ground, even as the grief engulfed the Jammu region for the last 20 days, having lost over 130 lives in this duration.
However, LoP Sharma’s assertions have cemented this sentiment, putting up a serious question mark on the Chief Minister’s Office.
“There are many other pictures of that day. You can search and find pictures where Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is seated next to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the top BJP leadership and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, the constitutional head of UT. That shows the respect BJP gives to the elected head of Jammu and Kashmir.
“However, only one picture has been made viral to gain sympathy. There was no protocol to restrict the Chief Minister. After all, he is the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Who could have stopped him?,” Sharma asked.
Rejecting the speculations that Omar was made to stand behind, Sharma said, “It was his own interest, or lack thereof, that he chose to stand far behind.”
He also said that when Omar visited the cloud-burst hit Chisoti village in Kishtwar on 16 August, he didn’t meet Sharma, also the local MLA, who was present on-site.
“The Chief Minister kept to his party workers and didn’t even respond to my greetings. I am the local MLA. He could have found some time to talk to me,” he said.
On the other hand, social media is abuzz, pointing out the stark difference in the elected government’s response to the devastating disaster in Jammu, vis a vis, the perceived situation in the Kashmir valley on Wednesday.
“Omar government’s ministers were barely visible in Jammu, where 133 people have died in the past 20 days. However, there was only a flood warning in the Kashmir Valley, and his entire cabinet was out on the road,” remarked a social media user.