Farooq Abdullah Slams Centre for ‘Ignoring’ Jammu in G20 Events

Srinagar: National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah lashed out at the government in Srinagar on Monday for “ignoring” Jammu in the upcoming G-20 Tourism Working Group meeting in the summer capital from May 22 and May 24.

Terming the exclusion of Jammu “unfortunate”, Abdullah argued that meetings should have been held in Jammu too.

“If the summit meeting could be held in Kashmir, why not in Jammu? Aren’t the people of Jammu important? It is regretful to see the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders who always chant Jammu and Dogra-centric slogans silent today. Not even one of them is speaking up,” Abdullah told reporters.

J&K | The tragedy is they(Centre) have avoided Jammu. Why is it only held in Ladakh? Why is it held in Kashmir? Why not Jammu? I’m surprised not a single BJP leader of Jammu…is speaking about why the G20 did not occur in Jammu?: National Conference Chief Farooq Abdullah on G20… pic.twitter.com/pATtW5FYdz

— ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2023

The former chief minister (CM) asked if the meeting could be held in the Union Territory of Ladakh, why is Jammu taken for granted? More than 100 delegates were present at the Youth 20 Pre-Summit Meeting, under G20 and hosted by the ministry of youth and sports affairs, in Leh from April 26 to 28.

NC vice-president and former CM Omar Abdullah said that the summit meeting is causing inconvenience to the people of Srinagar rather than being an advantage. 

“Things are a mess in Srinagar because of this G-20 tamasha. The actual meeting will probably see most areas locked down & people stuck in their homes. Perhaps the BJP is being sensible sparing the people of Jammu the pain we are suffering here in the valley. The G20 has only punished the residents of Srinagar,” he tweeted.

Things are a mess in Srinagar because of this G-20 tamasha. The actual meeting will probably see most areas locked down & people stuck in their homes. Perhaps the BJP is being sensible sparing the people of Jammu the pain we are suffering here in the valley. The G20 has only… https://t.co/QG4P2Xc2OR

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 1, 2023

The J&K administration has tightened security with Srinagar undergoing a major infrastructure overhaul, which other political parties have also criticised.

CPI(M) central committee member and former Kulgam MLA MY Tarigami also raised concerns over the ongoing Smart City project around Srinagar, which, he alleged, violates the Srinagar Master Plan.

“The idea behind the project was to give citizens a decent quality of life in terms of a clean and sustainable environment and application of smart solutions to public issues keeping the citizens at the centre. This isn’t happening. The promised developmental dividends of the Smart City project continue to remain untraceable on the ground across Srinagar,” he said in a statement.