Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 9: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said today that police have been given special instructions to protect the people, who cast their votes during just concluded Parliamentary elections in Kashmir and added that the gangs trying to terrorize the electorate wouldn’t be tolerated.
The instructions by the Chief Minister came following incidents in different parts of Baramulla Lok Sabha seat, where the miscreants checked indelible ink on fingers of the youth and beat-up those, who had cast their votes. Some of the youths were paraded semi naked for voting.
“We will take action against anyone trying to terrorize the voters,” Omar said in a series of tweets today on victimization of electorates and reports that he was overstaying in the Government bungalow in New Delhi.
In a stern message to those terrorizing the people for voting, Omar wrote on the micro-blogging site twitter: “the gangs moving around trying to terrorize those who voted will not be tolerated. Action will be taken against anyone found trying to terrorize voters”.
He said police has been instructed accordingly.
The Government has asked the police authorities in the Kashmir Valley especially parts of Baramulla-Kupwara Lok Sabha seat to come down heavily on the gangs, who were beating-up, harassing and using other methods of coercion against the people, who cast their votes in Lok Sabha elections, which concluded in the State on May 7.
The Government has directed the police authorities to book the people under relevant sections of law for harassing the voters.
Yesterday, a number of incidents were reported in Baramulla in which, the gangs of youth had stopped vehicles, checked indelible ink on fingers of the people and beat-up those, who had cast their votes. Some of the youths were paraded semi naked for casting votes.
“Can’t have freedom to choose not to vote without allowing people who want to vote a similar choice,” Omar said sending a strong message to opponents of voting.
Some of the separatist organizations had given a call for boycott of elections, which led to low turnout in all three Lok Sabha seats of the Kashmir Valley. Baramulla had recorded highest turnout among three seats of Kashmir at 39.6 per cent followed by 28 per cent in Anantnag and 26.17 per cent in Srinagar. However, the turnout was very low as compared to three other seats of Jammu and Kashmir (Jammu, Udhampur and Ladakh), all of which recorded above 70 per cent voting.
Meanwhile, reacting to the controversy on overstaying in Government bungalow in New Delhi’s elite Lutyens zone, Omar tweeted that he was not overstaying in the bungalow in Delhi.
A newspaper in New Delhi had reported that Omar Abdullah and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh were allotted bungalows in Delhi at 7, Akbar Road and 1, Jantar Mantar respectively when they were Union Ministers and after resigning from the Cabinet both are still staying in the same bungalows.
“7 Akbar road is allotted to Union Minister Ghulam for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad and as CM of a State he and I having bungalow on South Avenue Lane. We have swapped occupancy for our convenience”, Omar said.
“This has been since 2009 and so neither of us is overstaying or violating any guidelines regarding our accommodation,” the Chief Minister said, adding that it would have been correct for the paper to verify the facts before printing a story.
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