Omar Abdullah says he was denied access to the Drass Dak Bungalow and the use of a mike during Ladakh visit 

Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council leads celebration of the Foundation Day of the Union Territory of Ladakh

National Conference (NC) leader and former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that on Monday he had been denied permission to use a mike at a workers’ function and was unable to stay at the Drass Dak Bungalow during his Ladakh tour, which coincided with the Ladakh administration’s celebration of the Union Territory’s foundation day.  

“The mike was removed from our small workers’ meeting in Drass and the Dak Bungalow was sealed. In fact, the SDM (Sub Divisional Magistrate) was personally monitoring our activities and [they] had stationed themselves right next to our meeting,” Mr. Abdullah told The Hindu.

This was the second time Mr. Abdullah was touring Ladakh, which was carved out as a separate Union Territory from J&K on August 5, 2019.

“One, it shows how shaky the administration is about its own decision to split J&K into two Union Territories. 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,” Mr. Abdullah said. 

He said he was still a former Chief Minister, and had a high security categorisation too. “Basic courtesy would be to make a room available for me to freshen up but even that was beyond them. Thankfully, I’ve never been bothered by a lack of basic courtesy and have enough friends and well-wishers in Drass for me to never need to rely on government infrastructure,” Mr. Abdullah added.

Addressing party workers, he said Kargil and Leh had been separated from J&K and, “If they [the Centre] are heeding the demands of people of Kargil and Leh, then why be shaky by our visit to the region?”

Mr. Abdullah’s close aide, Nasir Aslam Wani, who also spoke during the function organised by the NC, said the people of J&K had a “blood relation with the people of Kargil and Leh”. “It’s an old relationship. No boundary can end our relationship. We understand and share each other’s pain,” Mr. Wani said.