J&K oppostion questions CM absence from Assembly

The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly today witnessed uproar when the opposition took exception to the "continued absence" of chief minister Omar Abdullah from the House, accusing him of taking the proceedings "non-seriously".
    
"Where is the angry young man? He has not been seen in the House for the past 12 days," leader of National Panthers Party Harsh Dev Singh said during the Question Hour.

His remarks came after minister of state for planning Manohar Lal Sharma stood to reply to his query meant for Abdullah.

"Where is the CM? The last time he was seen in the House was 12 days ago and that too just for only 20 minutes. He should show respect to the House," Singh said.
   
He said that it is "unfortunate" that the chief minister is taking the assembly "non-seriously" following which the PDP members shouted "let us file an FIR to locate him".

Countering the opposition attack, finance minister Abdul Rahim Rather said "chief ministers can authorise their colleagues to answer questions on their behalf."

Singh then sought protection from speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone in the matter.