Omar calls for political maturity
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 20: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today called for political maturity, urging lawmakers to “desist from doing politics on everything”, after a Government order issued by the Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar regarding “Zakat” (alms) collection was painted as interference in religious matters.
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Immediately after the Question Hour ended in the Assembly, Omar raised a point of order as he wanted to respond to concerns voiced by Congress MLAs Nizamuddin Bhat and Ghulam Ahmed Mir yesterday. The two Congress legislators, along with other MLAs, had criticised a recent administrative order in Kishtwar, regulating donations.
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Addressing the floor, Omar said he personally investigated the matter to determine if the State was overstepping and clarified that the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Kishtwar did not act on a whim or a political order, but on a direct plea of Muslim community leaders in the district.
During pre-Ramzan preparatory meetings, local Muslim religious leaders had expressed deep concern over the rise of “fake NGOs” that exploit the holy month to defraud donors.
“Money is collected in the name of patients who may not even exist,” the CM said, adding, “The religious leaders requested the DC to issue this order because legitimate NGOs were being harmed by these fraudulent actors.”
Far from being seen as “interference”, the Chief Minister noted that the order has received a formal backing from the imam of Kishtwar’s Jama Masjid, local maulvis and prominent religious organisations in the region.
He took aim at the knee-jerk political reactions, saying not every administrative decision should be viewed through a political lens and that such decisions are often taken in consultation with people.
“I would like to request the members and others that we should not do politics on everything,” he said, adding, “We should go into details. Sometimes these decisions are not taken on a political basis, they are taken after consulting people. We should not put these things in politics.”
The Chief Minister’s remarks were acknowledged by the members of the treasury as well as opposition benches.
Kishtwar district authorities issued an order on Wednesday, regulating the collection of donations during the holy month, citing concerns over unauthorised fundraising.
In the order, Kishtwar DC Pankaj Kumar Sharma said it is the administration’s statutory obligation to ensure that public contributions intended for relief, welfare or religious purposes are not misappropriated, laundered or diverted for extraneous or subversive activities.
Criticising the DC’s order, Mir and Bhat demanded on Thursday that it should immediately be revoked.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) MLA Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi had termed the order an “overreach by the administration”.
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