Friday, March 29, 2024

Omar Abdullah agrees to vacate his accommodation in Srinagar





Omar Abdullah, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, has said he would vacate his government accommodation in Srinagar before the end of October.

In a letter to the administration of the Union Territory, addressed in July, the National Conference leader wrote:

“I will be vacating my government accommodation in Srinagar before the end of October. The point to note is that contrary to stories planted in the media last year I received no notice to vacate & have chosen to do so of my own accord (sic),” Abdullah wrote on Twitter, sharing a photo of his letter to the official in charge of estates, hospitality and protocol in Jammu and Kashmir.

Abdullah, 50, said he had the property allocated to him at Srinagar’s VVIP area of Gupkar Road in 2002. He was then the MP from the Srinagar constituency. He demitted his office in 2015 but stayed put as the rules allowed him to retain the accommodation in Srinagar or Jammu.

“Consequent upon the change of entitlements for former CMs on Jammu and Kashmir some months ago, I now find myself in unauthorised occupation of this accommodation, as no attempt has been made to regularise the allotment to me on security and other grounds. This is a situation that is unacceptable to me. I have never held on to any government property I was not entitled to and I have no intention to start now,” he said.

Abdullah was freed after nearly eight months of detention in Srinagar on March 24. Days before that, his father and former Union Minister Farooq Abdullah too was released from house arrest. Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is still in detention.


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