JAMMU: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has condemned the “unjust and illegal war imposed on Iran” and requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to use his influence to end the war in the interest of humanity. Abdullah made the statement in the Legislative Assembly as the Leader of the House after several National Conference (NC) members pressed for a brief statement, despite opposition from the BJP MLAs who said the Iran crisis is an international issue and does not fall in the domain of this House.
This clearly showed the split among the legislators with the BJP members saying that issues like this, which are the domain of the Central government, should not be discussed in the assembly of the Union Territory (UT) of J&K. The Congress and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) members also made similar demands.
Responding to the demands of legislators from different parties, the CM said: “On behalf of myself and my colleagues, I strongly condemn this unjust and illegal war imposed on Iran. I express my deepest condolences over the loss of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his associates and all those who have lost their lives in this conflict.”
“I also make a sincere appeal to our prime minister to use all available diplomatic channels and relationships to help end this war at the earliest. This will benefit not just us, but humanity as a whole,” the CM said.
Interestingly, the presence of journalists outside the assembly premises seems to prompt dramatic statements from many legislators. Carrying placards, wearing colourful head bandanas, and shouting slogans against the US-Israel combine was something that many legislators did outside the assembly premises. NC spokesman Tanvir Sadiq had his own moments of such glory with journalists around nodding to his demand for a resolution in the House against the US and Israel.
He said the two countries had no right to wage an “undeclared war’’ against any other nations, in the process killing innocent men, women and children. He also expressed solidarity with the people of Iran who have been, according to him, unjustly targeted. Sadiq had tried to lead some protests in Srinagar some weeks ago but then decided to sit at home after observing a no-nonsense attitude from the security forces.
Meanwhile, PDP legislator Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi has demanded that the J&K assembly pass a resolution condemning aggression against Iran, asserting that it would reflect the sentiments of the people of the region. Speaking outside the Assembly, MLA Budgam said the hearts of Kashmiris were deeply wounded and drew a parallel to the martyrdom of Imam Khomeini.
Mehdi stressed the need for a formal resolution, stating that his remarks were an expression of
public concern. “We want a resolution to be passed so that the emotions of the people of Jammu and Kashmir are translated into words. We also want to send a message from here that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are protesting against American and Israeli terrorism,” he said.
Mehdi, a Shia, was elected from Budgam assembly segment which was vacated by Omar Abduallah who had won from two segments in the September-October 2024 elections. The legislator said they would raise their voice at every forum, maintaining that opposing what he called a “bully-based world order” was a matter of justice and a human demand.
Jumping into the discussions, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Friday criticised Omar for taking so long to unequivocally condemn Israel’s attack on Iran, calling the delay “disheartening”. Mehbooma, in a post on X, said, “How disheartening that it took our chief minister, the only Muslim CM of India’s only Muslim majority state, an entire month to unequivocally condemn Israel’s dastardly attack on Iran.”
Mehbooba said even the Punjab Assembly had “acted swiftly”, faster than the J&K assembly, becoming the first legislature to pass a resolution to condemn and show its solidarity with Iran.
“Yet the JK government showed no such urgency or genuine concern, choosing to limit its responses to mere rhetoric and speeches instead of a clear and principled stand,” Mehbooba added.
In the assembly, there was a fracas, and things threatened to get out of hand when some Congress members clashed with BJP legislators. A couple of Congress members started speaking about PM Modi, but the BJP members were quick to call them out. A couple of placards carried by Congress members were snatched by BJP legislators. This forced the intervention by marshals of the House as they tried to keep the legislators from the two parties separate from one another and not come to blows.
