“Stage Should Have Honored Martyrs, Tricolour, J&K’s Future, Hails ‘Vande Mataram’ at Bakshi Stadium
Srinagar :Leader of Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Sunil Sharma on Saturday termed Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s Independence Day speech “irresponsible”, alleging that the solemn occasion was misused for political rhetoric rather than fostering national unity, honoring martyrs, and outlining J&K’s future.
Reacting to the Chief Minister’s address at Bakshi Stadium, Sharma told reporters here that the Independence Day platform must transcend party politics to celebrate the sacrifices of freedom fighters and the glory of the Tricolour. “I don’t want to talk about politics, but I was very shocked when such a stage was used by the Chief Minister for political purposes. This stage represents the glorious history of India. This stage is not the stage of a party or a person. This stage is for the glory of the flag. It is irresponsible to talk about politics here by the Chief Minister,” Sharma stated, adding that the government should have highlighted its performance and future plans, particularly for unemployed youth. Criticizing the repeated references to August 5, 2019, he remarked, “The way he repeated the incident of August 5, 2019, I felt very bad. Because any government tells about its performance and future planning. I don’t think the Chief Minister had any performance or future planning. It was totally confusing and frustrating.” Rebutting Omar’s stance, Sharma claimed the federal structure has actually strengthened post-Article 370. Meanwhile, he hailed the rendition of “Vande Mataram” at Bakshi Stadium as a historic milestone for Kashmir, calling it “a great success after August 5, 2019, where in a place like Kashmir, at Bakshi Stadium, everyone showed their faith in Vande Mataram.” Welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a developed India by 2047, Sharma commended the youth and security forces for safeguarding peace and driving national progress, noting, “The foundation of the developed India that we are planning for 2047 is the youth of India. The government has decided to take the youth in a new direction, which is very welcome.”
