'Omar Abdullah raising AFSPA issue to appease separatists'

Jammu State Morcha Saturday accused Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of raising the AFSPA issue to appease the separatists and divert the public attention from misgovernance in the state.

The common man is indifferent to the issue of AFPSA which is being raised repeatedly by the Chief Minister, JMM president Virender Gupta said.

"The bogey of AFPSA is being raised to appease the separatists and also to divert the attention of the people from the mismanagement of state affairs by the state government," Gupta claimed.

The RSS-backed Morcha, an amalgam of 19 political and social outfits, was formed in 2002.

The Chief Minister is raising controversial issues one after another to regain the political space that he is losing with each passing day, Gupta alleged.

"Thus to mislead public and in order to exploit the emotions of a few, Omar has time and again tried to raise the issue of AFSPA," he said.

The authority to revoke Armed Forces Special Powers Act should also rest with the Unified Command and not with the Chief Minister alone, he said.

"We request the Chief Minister to be rational rather than emotional and give up the demand of AFSPA revocation till security situation improves and Pakistan dismantles the terrorist infrastructure on its soil," he said.