Omar urges cadre to help people

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 17

In his first-ever interaction with the party cadre since his release in March, National Conference (NC) vice-president and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday called for a determined and passionate participation in the fight against coronavirus which has caused a humanitarian crisis worldwide.

‘Need to unite’

The task of political parties is not to seek votes only, but there are also much larger issues and we have to reach out to the people and help them in all possible ways. — Omar Abdullah, former CM

Omar, who spent more than seven months in detention and was released on March 24, urged the NC cadre to come out and help the people fight the virus.

“This is our duty in these testing times,” he told the party leaders and cadre of the Jammu province through a videoconference from Srinagar.

He reminded them that the “task of the political parties is not to seek votes only, but there are also much larger issues and we have to reach out to the people and help them in all possible ways”.

Provincial president of the NC Devender Singh Rana, who had organised the event, said such unprecedented situations put an extra responsibility on the shoulders of the political parties.

Recalling how the party had been on the frontline during each crisis in J&K since its formation, Omar said the “need of the hour is to play that frontline role yet again with greater passion and sense of responsibility”.

He said the unprecedented situation needed to be overcome with a united fight against the virus.

Welcoming the vice-president for videoconferencing with functionaries after nearly nine months, Rana said “the NC is committed to public service as ever before”. He said all district and block units of the party had been activated to help the people in need ever since the spread of the virus.

Senior National Conference leaders, former ministers and legislators, functionaries of various wings and districts of the Jammu province participated in the videoconference.