Law other than NSA could have been invoked against Varun: Omar

The hate speech of BJP's Lok Sabha candidate Varun Gandhi did not threaten national security and a law other that the National Security Act could have been invoked to deal with it, says Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah.

At the same time, he said he found Varun's remarks to be "distasteful" and that he was both "disappointed" and "surprised" by them.

"It was a hate speech but it didn't threaten national security. I am sure there are other rules and other laws that could have been used," he told a tv news channel.

"If we weren't in the the middle of an election season which tends to become a silly season, possibly this act (NSA) wouldn't have been used.  I have a feeling that the use of NSA is perhaps more political than actually legally required," Abdullah said.

The National Conference leader said he did not expect such remarks from "somebody with that background, that education, having studied in the United Kingdowm, belonging to the family he does".

Abdullah said, "I know his party is supposed to have some influence on him but I didn't expect the influence to be that strong (given) the kind of words that he did (use)".

He said that what was "shocking" to him is that Varun is a member of the Gandhi family and a person who has seen much more than those belonging to his age group in the country.

"One would have expected him to have had a slightly more tolerant outlook to the whole thing--'haath kaat denge' and all that. I found it particularly distasteful," he said.