‘Artificial snow facilities essential in Gulmarg’
Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Feb 23: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today rallied behind the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying that he is doing his job as opposition leader and is taking the government and Bhartiya Janta Party to task.
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Speaking to reporters after inaugurating the 6th edition of the Khelo India Winter Games in Gulmarg, Omar mounted a strong defence, questioning criticism of Gandhi.
“Tell me, what is the shortcoming of Rahul Gandhi in his competition with the BJP? He is a person who always targets the BJP. He always opposes the BJP and the Government on everything. That is the job of the leader of the opposition,” he said.
“Now, what more do you want from him? It is okay that sometimes Congress does not succeed in the elections. But the job of India Bloc is to take the Government in its hands, opposing the BJP. In that, what is the shortcoming of Rahul Gandhi? Can someone tell me?” he asked
Reacting to remarks by senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, who recently projected Mamata Banerjee as the leader of the INDIA bloc, Omar said the issue has never been formally discussed within the bloc.
“Till now, there has been no such meeting in the INDIA Block. So, I do not know where this projection is coming from,” he said. He described Aiyar’s statement as a personal view, adding, “Mani Shankar Aiyar gave his personal opinion. He has the right to his opinion. No one can say that Aiyar does not have the right to keep his words.”
However, the Chief Minister stressed that any final call would be taken jointly. “In the end, when the decision will be made, it will be of India Bloc. Everyone will talk together. And till now, in any meeting of India Block, there has been no talk of leadership. First, we will talk about this internally,” he said.
Omar said the development of artificial snow facilities in Gulmarg is now essential, noting that such infrastructure has become standard in global competitions.
“After the 1920s, it has now been proven that every Winter Olympics, artificial snow was needed. Now, somewhere in Gulmarg, we will have to make such facilities, in both ways,” he said.
He said the facilities would serve both sporting ambitions and tourism. “One for sports, so that one day it happens that we are also in a medal position there. And second for tourism, because for Gulmarg, winter tourism is very important in itself. And if we can run this winter tourism more, then we will also take steps for it.”
Calling winter sports a platform to reduce gender disparities, the Chief Minister said men and women compete “almost at equal level” in most disciplines. “Barring one discipline in the Olympics, every discipline is equally participated by men and women. Therefore, to see greater women’s participation in the Khelo Winter Games is very heartening,” he said.
At the same time, he underlined the need for better infrastructure and coaching. “We need proper coaching facilities. So that, as I said in my speech, one day comes when we are actually in a position to compete for medals,” he said.
He added, “We send our squads, whether for skiing, for other sort of events. But unfortunately, our participation is not to the level where we can hope to win medals. I hope in my lifetime, we can raise our performance to a medal-winning one,” he added, expressing hope that India’s success in athletics and shooting at the Summer Olympics would one day be replicated in winter sports.
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