By IANS,
Srinagar : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Monday paid homage to elected village council representatives recently killed in the Kashmir Valley.
The chief minister condoled the deaths of Sarpanches and Panches during the autumn session of the state assembly that started here Monday.
“Their only fault was that they had come forward to serve the people without any party affiliations. Whether they were killed because of militancy or due to some rivalry, we pay homage to them,” said Abdullah.
Leader of Opposition Mehbooba Mufti of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) also paid homage to the slain village representatives, saying that the security of the elected village council heads and members was an issue which needed immediate attention.
A meeting of the unified headquarters, the joint security grid in the state, has been convened Monday where the issue of providing security to the elected village representatives is likely to be discussed.
The chief minister is the head of the unified headquarters.
Abdullah also said Monday that gone are the days when politicians took to politics as a social service.
During an obituary reference to Malik Mohiuddin, a former speaker of the assembly, Abdullah said, “Politicians nowadays like to follow the tide. In olden days, politics was a means of social service, but now it is a profession like any other.”