National Conference (NC) working president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said his party will abrogate the Public Safety Act (PSA) “in days” if voted to power in the upcoming assembly elections in the State.“Let me assure the people of Jammu Kashmir that if the National Conference comes to power, we will abolish the Public Safety Act in days,” Omar said while addressing party’s day-long convention in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.“I’m not saying that we will not use PSA, it is easy to say; somebody after us will come and use it. What I’m saying is that we will abrogate the law. Mai Is Qaanoon Ka Naam-o-Nishaan Mitaa Doonga,” he said.The former CM said if people vote NC to power, the youth “would no more be detained under PSA, and the parents whose sons are languishing in jails under this law won’t get sleepless nights again”.The government’s job is to provide relief to people not oppress them, the NC working president said.On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to State on February 3, Omar said the PM is here to inaugurate some projects and that he doesn’t expect any political move from him as it has been too late now.
“We were waiting for the last four and a half years that Modi- government takes bold initiatives vis-a-vis resolution of Kashmir issue, which unfortunately didn’t happen. The dialogue process didn’t take place. The interlocutor was (sent here) just to show off,” he said.“Now as a few months have remained of the BJP government, we must not expect any good from it. He (Modi) may also be coming here to campaign for BJP. Politically he has nothing to offer,” he said.Omar Abdullah also criticized the Government of India for objecting to Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s phone call to Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, saying “why is New Delhi upset?”“We have many times in past talked to Mirwaiz sahib. There were times when we would together participate in conferences and seminars and I used to put my political viewpoint and Mirwaiz sahib his own. I feel India was much tolerant those days. All that was acceptable in the recent past has now become a taboo,” he according to GNS said.The former CM asserted that “Kashmir is a political issue which has to be resolved politically, and for this, we have put our efforts in the past and will continue to endeavour”. (GNS)