Says no apology needed over Tanvir’s remark
Srinagar, Sept 10: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said the Jammu and Kashmir Government was bound to follow the law requiring the full rendition of Vande Mataram at government functions, hitting back at Congress criticism of the practice and saying those objecting to the legislation should have opposed it in Parliament.
“We have to follow the law. If Congress comes to power, they can repeal the law. But as long as the law exists, we have to follow it,” Omar told reporters here.
Responding to Congress objections to the singing of the national song, he asked, “Do Congress want more people should go to jail?”
Omar said the National Conference did not recognise the full version of Vande Mataram at the party level, but maintained that the government could not disregard statutory provisions.
“At party level we don’t recognise this song, but now it is a law and anybody who doesn’t sing it can face action under law,” he said.
The remarks come amid a growing disagreement between the NC and its alliance partner Congress over the rendition of the complete six-stanza version of Vande Mataram at official functions in J&K.
The issue came to the fore after the full version was played at the inaugural ceremony of the International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar in the presence of Omar and NC president Farooq Abdullah. It was subsequently played at the swearing-in ceremony of the Chief Justice of the J&K and Ladakh High Court.
J&K Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra had criticised the NC’s position, arguing that the adopted version of the song represented a balance between its historical significance and India’s plural ethos.
NC chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq, however, maintained that the government was required to follow the law and that nobody would be forced to sing the song. He had also cited instances in Congress-ruled Karnataka and Telangana where the full version was played at official functions.
The legal dispute relates to the 2026 amendment to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, which extended specific legal protection to Vande Mataram. The amended provisions penalise intentionally preventing the singing of the National Song or causing disturbance to an assembly engaged in its singing.
Omar also defended Tanvir Sadiq over his controversial remarks about the poverty of Kashmiris in the past, saying the NC MLA’s reference to people sharing a single pajama was historically accurate and did not warrant an apology.
“What Tanvir said is historically accurate. He does not need to apologise or clarify what he said,” Omar said.
Tanvir, speaking on the 44th death anniversary of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah on September 8, had said that during Sheikh Abdullah’s leadership it became possible for Kashmiris to wear pajamas, claiming that earlier an entire locality had only one pajama which people wore by turns.
Omar said the poverty and hardships faced by Kashmiris under the earlier feudal system were documented by historians, including Walter Lawrence.
“There was a time when Kashmiris were so poor that they had to come to the city with their pajamas from the mosque. This is not Tanvir’s own thinking. This is a historical fact,” he said.
He said Tanvir’s intention was perhaps to highlight the progress made by Kashmiris from those difficult circumstances, noting that people were now educating their children and producing doctors and engineers.
Omar also accused the BJP and PDP of having a common agenda in raising the controversy and reiterated that neither Tanvir nor the NC had anything to apologise for.
On protests by Kashmiri Pandit employees appointed under the Prime Minister’s package and posted in the Valley, Omar said none of the employees was without accommodation, asserting that transit housing had been provided wherever it had been constructed.
“Which Kashmiri Pandit is without a home? None of them are homeless. Wherever transit accommodation has been prepared, they have been provided homes,” he said.
The Chief Minister was responding to protests by Pandit employees who have raised concerns over security and accommodation and sought relocation to Jammu.
Omar said the government had constructed gated, secured transit accommodations in various districts of the Valley for migrant employees and asked those who still required housing to approach the administration.
“If anyone needs a home, let us know. The rest have already been provided homes,” he said.
He acknowledged, however, that the families of many employees remained in Jammu and elsewhere while the employees continued to live in secured accommodations in the Valley.
Omar said most of the employees wanted to be posted outside the Valley, citing various reasons. (IANS/KNT)
