Educated youth resorting to militancy is worrying: Omar Abdullah

Expressing concern over spurt in militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, former chief minister and opposition National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said the worrisome fact is that educated youth are increasingly resorting to militancy.

"Instead of getting job letters, the educated youth feel lured to take up guns in their hands, as they find their future bleak," he said at a party function in Jammu to welcome Congress leader Prem Sagar Aziz into the NC.

Referring to militants targeting police and security forces in the Valley, Omar said, "Spurt in violence is failure of the PDP-BJP coalition government. New Year took off on a very grim note with CRPF and police personnel, besides civilians getting killed in one after another incident."

Without naming the PDP, the former CM said, "I was told that I had a role to play in creating Burhan Wani. But have you ever thought how many Burhan Wanis have you created in the last one-and-a-half years after coming to power? If I am responsible for one, how many are you responsible for?"

Omar also asked the government not to project the killing of over 200 militants in 2017 as a success as "it is a 'certificate of failure', as more youth have joined militancy during the current dispensation than under NC regime."

The NC leader also accused the Mehbooba Mufti-led collation government of "failure on all fronts". "Open criticism of the coalition government by the governor was proof of its failure," he said.

Guv's rap

Omar was referring to Narinder Nath Vohra's statement  during a commemoration function here on Monday in honour of PDP founder, the late Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, that the "State faces many problems, some of our own doing and some others' contribution."

Earlier, speaking in the Legislative Assembly, Omar questioned the role and responsibilities of Center's special representative to Kashmir, Dineshwar Sharma.

"Sharma is acting as a super chief minister. What is the mission of the special representative? He works like a super chief minister, as we hear, by meeting delegations to look into problems with regard to power, water, non-availability of doctors at hospital, unemployment. Is it his job," he asked.