BJP questions Omar, Farooq Abdullah's 'proximity' to Yusuf Mohammad

The BJP today questioned Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his father Union minister Farooq's "proximity" to National Conference party worker Syed Yousuf Mohammad who allegedly died in police custody.

Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley maintained the mystery behind Mohammad's death--which has rocked the state for the last five days, will be solved by the authorities but the political aspect of the controversy is significant.

Mohammad was allegedly taking money from party leaders and others to get their work done. Omar maintains that Mohammad was handed over to the police after he came to know about his deeds and confronted him.

"The chief minister has himself said a probe is on and the truth will come out. But why did the father and son (Farooq and Omar) hobnob with an individual (Mohammad) who had the reputation of a middleman?" Jaitley said.

"Scams happen like this only," he added.

He advised the chief minister to think about the kind of people he has brought around himself.

Underlining the importance of good governance and clean politics, which form the theme of senior BJP leader LK Advani's Jan Chetna Yatra, the leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha said at a party programme that these two aspects were even more crucial to a state like Jammu and Kashmir.

"These are most needed in Jammu and Kashmir... Movements of all hues keep taking place there," he said.