Centre cannot stop China from entering Ladakh but won’t allow me in Kargil, says Omar Abdullah

National Conference Vice-President Omar Abdullah on Monday claimed that authorities in Ladakh tried to stop him from entering Kargil, reported PTI.

“They told me not come here,” Omar told his supporters in Drass town near Kargil city. “There [Eastern Ladakh] China has come in, you could not stop them, you could not send them back. We are only going from Srinagar to Kargil via Drass. We were not here to occupy the town.”

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister also claimed that he was stopped from using a microphone at a workers’ meeting and from using the Dak Bungalow at Drass.

“I have been the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir for six years, but I fail to understand certain decisions made by them,” he said. “At best, I would have only used the Dak Bungalow to freshen up.”

Adbullah told The Hindu that the local sub divisional magistrate was monitoring the activities of his team.

“One, it shows how shaky the administration is about its own decision to split J&K into two Union Territories,” he said. “We had no plan for any public gathering or procession and even then they resort to petty acts like mike snatching. Secondly, it shows how poor they are at basic hospitality.”

Abdullah said that the Centre had justified its decisions of August 5, 2019 by citing demands of citizens from Kargil and Leh, and questioned why the government was scared of letting him visit the regions.

Ladakh was carved out of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019 after the Centre scrapped the special status given to the erstwhile state under Article 370.

The National Conference leader also said the government cannot sever the centuries-old ties between the residents of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh by drawing boundaries.

“Our relations are very strong, and these fake lines cannot weaken that,” he added. “We can feel your pain, we know you are being ignored.”