SRINAGAR: A day after being placed under house arrest and barred from visiting the martyrs’ graveyard on “Martyrs’ Day”, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, along with his cabinet colleagues, legislators and senior National Conference (NC) leaders, on Monday visited the site at Nowhatta in Srinagar to pay homage to the 22 Kashmiris killed on July 13, 1931.Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was accompanied by Deputy CM Surinder Kumar Choudhary, CM’s Advisor Nasir Aslam Wani, cabinet ministers Javed Dar and Sakina Itoo, NC president Farooq Abdullah, party spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq and several other party leaders and legislators. They paid floral tributes at the martyrs’ graveyard near the Naqshband Sahib shrine, which had been heavily barricaded by security forces.In a defiant move that quickly went viral on social media, Omar Abdullah scaled a wall and jumped a barricade to access the graveyard, followed closely by his security detail and other party members.“These people think that we are their slaves. We are not their slaves; we are the servants of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Omar told reporters at the site.He said that despite not notifying the authorities of his visit, attempts were made to block his movement once again. “A security vehicle was parked in Nowhatta Chowk to block our movement. Which law allows them to stop elected representatives from paying tribute to martyrs? Is this democracy or dictatorship?” he asked.
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