Wakf Bill : Omar under Oppn fire for accompanying Rijiju to Tulip Garden

way2barak April 8: Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah came under the fire from the Opposition for accompanying Union Minister Kiren Rijiju during a morning walk on Monday in the famous Tulip Garden in Srinagar.

Opposition leaders targeted him for the company of Rijiju who had tabled the Wakf (Amendment) Bill in Parliament in his capacity as the minister of parliamentary affairs as also the minister for minority affairs.

The J&K Assembly, which reassembled this morning after a break, was adjourned twice amid uproar over the Wakf Bill, which has become a law with the assent of President Droupadi Murmu, after being passed in Parliament.

Omar Abdullah, along with his father, National Conference President Dr. Farooq Abdullah, met Rijiju in the Tulip Garden. They were seen shaking hands, strolling, and taking pictures together.

Sharing the pictures with the caption “refreshing morning walk”, Rijijju, wrote on his X handle: “A refreshing morning walk amid the vibrant hues of the Tulip Garden in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, with Hon’ble CM Shri @OmarAbdullah ji and also glad to meet Dr Farooq Abdullah sahab. Nature at its finest & conversations filled with warmth & vision, a truly special morning. Tending to a Tulip garden isn’t easy at all. From planting & maintenance to ensuring the perfect blooms requires special care & hardwork. The garden needs 11 months of preparation to showcase the tulips for a month-long bloom. Extending my gratitude to the entire team!”

Anguished over Omar’s visit to Tulip Garden with Rijiju amidst discontentment in the state Assembly over Wakf Act, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said, “Muslims are helpless in India. But J&K is a Muslim-majority state, a secular state. We had expectations from the J&K government that they would oppose it vocally. We had expected the resolution. Farooq Abdullah, who is among the prominent leaders of the country, could have called all leaders for a meeting, protest, we would have joined. They always accuse the PDP for forming a government with the BJP, but we did not allow their agenda here.”

People’s Conference President and legislator Sajad Gani Lone said the J&K CM could have stayed away from Rijiju who tabled the Bill. “The least Muslims of India deserved was that in J&K, the only Muslim-majority province in India, the CM as a mark of protest stays away from Mr Kiren Rijiju, who presented the Wakf Bill. Instead he tags along Farooq sahib as well. What a shame,” Lone wrote on X.

Peoples’ Democratic Party leader and former minister Naeem Akhtar shared two pictures of the NC leaders on X with Rijiju in the Tulip Garden and wrote, “Registering disapproval of Waqf law with its mover just a day later. The NC has this charming skill set of channeling the sentiment of its people in most romantic ways. Always champions”.