By IANS,
Srinagar : In an admission of sorts, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah believes his decision to detain hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani in the past could have made him into “a hero”.
The chief minister, in a tweet, said Friday: “While I appreciate some people will have issues with my decision to allow SASG (Geelani) to roam freely today I’m done making him a hero on my time.”
According to sources, the decision to allow Geelani to lead the funeral prayers of Osama bin Laden in summer capital Srinagar Friday was taken by the chief minister himself after consultation with intelligence/security agencies.
His comment shows that Omar has accepted that putting the hardline separatist leader under house arrest to prevent him from addressing public/religious functions in the past has been a mistake.
The chief minister also had a dig at his followers on the micro blogging site who criticized his decision to allow Geelani to lead the Osama funeral prayers in Srinagar.
“And those of you waxing eloquent about SASG and his prayers are strangely silent when it’s done in Calcutta,” he posted, commenting on similar funeral prayers held in Kolkata.
Omar said in another tweet that had Geelani not been allowed to move freely on Friday, he would have claimed that thousands would have turned out to attend his prayer meeting.
Around a thousand people attended the prayer meet in Srinagar. Geelani had led the Osama funeral prayers in absence in Batmaloo area after the Friday prayers.
Geelani maintained that since the US forces had given Osama a sea burial which had offended Muslim sensibilities, Kashmiris had chosen to offer his funeral prayers in deference to the sentiments in other parts of the world.