Omar fumes as Eid holiday ‘declared a day earlier’

Srinagar, September 29

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah has criticised the decision of the J&K government to “declare Eid Milad-un-Nabi holiday a day earlier than the actual date”.

Speaking after offering Friday congregational prayers at the Hazratbal shrine, which holds the relics of Prophet Muhammad, Omar expressed his disappointment with this decision.

Eid Milad-un-Nabi commemorates the birthday of Prophet Muhammad. Omar took the opportunity to extend his greetings to the people on this occasion. However, he questioned the government’s rationale behind declaring a holiday a day in advance when it was widely known that the sacred day fell on that very day.

“It shows how insensitive this L-G administration is. Would they prepone the holiday in case of Diwali celebrations this year?” Omar questioned. “When National Conference spokesperson highlighted the issue, the video byte was removed from the individual handles of news portals reportedly under pressure from the government,” he said.

He urged the government to apply the same principle to other religious occasions.

When asked about the delay in conducting Assembly elections, Abdullah commented that the government appears to be waiting to gather the courage to proceed with the election process.