National Conference Working President and Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday expressed disappointment and grief over incidents of schools being burnt in various parts of the Valley and said this was an abhorrent ploy to destroy the future of our children.In a statement issued to KNS, Omar Abdullah said the Administration is responsible for protecting the education infrastructure in the State and should take the sternest possible action against those elements that are found guilty of such incidents of arson. Omar Abdullah also said the Hurriyat leadership should realize the costs of its reluctance and delay to condemn such behavior unequivocally.“Our schools hold the key to the self-reliance, dignity and empowerment of our future generation. An assault on our schools is an assault on our children, their future and their dreams. These are clear, unambiguous attempts to rob our children of education and intellectual growth and there can be no doubt that these elements who attack our schools are the enemies of our children and the enemies of enlightenment”, Mr. Omar Abdullah said in a statement issued from Srinagar.
The NC Working President said both the Administration and the Hurriyat leadership were responsible for failing to speak up and act in time to prevent such incidents. “You cannot aspire for the moral lecterns of self-righteous leadership without having the courage of your conviction to call a spade a spade. Persecuting your own people cannot be portrayed or disguised as alleged resistance based on a political cause. Robbing our children of their classrooms and of the prospects of academic growth is the greatest act of tyranny and oppression”, Omar Abdullah said in the statement.“We hope the State Government gets its act together and rises to the occasion to protect our schools. Every new, tragic and saddening news of a gutted school is a verdict on the incompetence and inaction of the State Government. We also hope Hurriyat leaders gather the courage to say the right thing at the right time and don't allow the street to dictate their agenda and their sense of right and wrong. Schools are centers of learning and enlightenment and an attack on our schools is an attack on our collective dignity and self-respect and will not be tolerated at any cost”, Omar Abdullah added. (KNS)