NC workers protest against sex slur on Omar

Raising anti-PDP slogans, scores of NC supporters came out of the party headquarters at Nawai Subah Complex here and pelted stones at Highland Motors showroom owned by a senior PDP leader in nearby Sonawar, damaging its main door and the front glasses, official sources said.

On hearing about the attack, PDP supporters also rushed to the scene but timely police intervention averted a clash between them and the NC protesters, they said.

NC workers also protested at Alamgari Bazar in downtown Srinagar, torching the effigies of PDP leaders including Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Mehbooba Mufti and Muzaffar Hussain Beigh who had accused Omar of being involved in the 2006 Srinagar sex scandal in the state assembly yesterday leading to his resignation.

Ganderbal, the home constuituency of Omar and Baramulla town also witnessed protests as slogan shouting NC workers made a bonfire of the effigies of PDP leaders and reasserted their faith in the CM, saying that the allegation against him was false and demanded withdrawal of his resignation.

NC activists blocked the Jammu-Pathankote national highway in Kathua district besides staging protests and burning effigies of PDP leaders in parts of Poonch and Jammu districts.

The NC protesters were chanting slogans like "Qirdar Kashi Manzoor Nahi Manzoor Nahi (Character assassination is not acceptable).

Several hundred activists of National Conference assembled at Dak Banglow at Baramulla district town of North Kashmir, 55 kms from here, and took out a rally in support of the Chief Minister.

"The allegations against the Chief Minister are false, fabricated, malicious and baseless. Beigh by levelling wild allegations against our leader has attempted to spit on the sky," a local leader Jan Mohammad who was leading the rally said.

The rally ended at Nanak Bhavan where the workers set ablaze the effigies of Mufti, Mehbooba and Beigh, who represents the Baramulla constituency in the assembly.

Chief Minister's constituency Ganderbal witnessed noisy protests as NC supporters chanted anti-PDP slogans and urged the CM to withdraw his resignation, saying, "We have full faith in Omar."

More than 100 NC activists blocked Jammu-Pathankote national highway at Hiranagar for more than half an hour and burnt effigy of PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Beigh whose allegation in the House led to Omar's resignation.

Demonstrations were also held by NC activists in Mendhar town of Poonch district and Miran Sahib area of Jammu district where they burnt the effigy of PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and that of Beigh respectively, raising slogans in favour of Omar and asking him to continue, the sources said.