‘Dissent on CEC’s appointment was Rahul’s right’
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 18: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said Jammu and Kashmir has performed well in implementation of three new criminal laws.
Omar, who attended the meeting chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah on implementation of new criminal laws in Jammu and Kashmir in New Delhi today, said that the discussions centered on modernization, expediting justice and ensuring a victim-centric approach to law enforcement.
“Today, it was Jammu and Kashmir’s turn to review the implementation of new criminal laws. I am pleased to report that on the implementation front, Jammu and Kashmir has performed well,” he said.
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Omar said the Government will play its part by extensive outreach programmes to educate people about new criminal laws by engaging schools, colleges, universities and social and political forums to ensure that citizens, especially the youth, are well-informed about their rights, responsibilities and broader impact of these legal challenges.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters after the meeting in New Delhi, the Chief Minister said the three new criminal laws have been “by and large” implemented successfully in the Union Territory.
“The meeting discussed the shortcomings and the areas to work upon for the smooth implementation of the three laws in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
“In case of Jammu and Kashmir, so far, the implementation of the new laws has been by and large successful except a few instances. These issues will be addressed,” Omar said.
He added that while the implementation of the new laws was “not the responsibility” of the elected Government, but it was important that people were made aware about their contents and proceedings as these are new laws.
Omar said there was no discussion on the law and order issue in the UT, adding that this was done when he met Shah at the Parliament recently.
“This meeting was different from the security review meeting,” he said.
Asked as to why he was not present in the two security review meetings for Jammu and Kashmir held recently, Omar said, “If a decision is taken that the elected Government will not be called for the security review meeting, what we can do? That is OK.”
Asked about Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s disagreement during Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired meeting to appoint a Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Omar said that “dissent was his (Gandhi’s) right and he exercised it”.
“He has a right to dissent…that is why he is there. He is there to give a point of view, he is not there simply to agree with what the Government suggests or proposes.”
“Where is it stipulated that the Leader of Opposition has to agree with what the Government does? It is for the Government to agree to it or not,” he said.
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