'Govts must protect every religion': Farooq Abdullah amid Assam govt scrapping namaz break

Srinagar: India is known for unity in diversity and governments must protect every religion, National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah said here on Saturday, a day after the Assam Assembly scrapped a two-hour 'namaz' break provided to Muslim legislators on Fridays.

Abdullah said nothing is permanent and things will change when the time comes.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said on Friday that the state assembly would discontinue the two-hour break provided on Fridays to facilitate Muslim legislators to offer 'namaz'.

The rule will be implemented from the next session.

"This country is known for unity in diversity. We have every religion and every language, be it Tamil Nadu, Kashmir, Bengal or Maharashtra,“ any state, every state has a different culture and that is why India is a federal structure and we have to protect every religion.

"When the time comes, it will change. Nothing is permanent. Good things will prevail again. We will tell them, let our government come, not to indulge in such activities," Abdullah said.

He said the people of Jammu and Kashmir must also respect and protect the people of every religion.

"We have to take care of people from every religion. When our approach towards them is good, then it will be good across the country," he added.

On PDP president Mehbooba Mufti describing as "regrettable" NC vice president Omar Abdullah's remarks that the banned outfit Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) once considered elections "haram (forbidden)" but now they have become "halal (permissible)", the NC president said nothing will be achieved by pointing fingers at each other.

"I will not say anything about her. May God bless her. May she tread her own path, but think about protecting the country. Nothing will come out of pointing fingers at each other. She must shun this way," he said.

He also congratulated the former members of the banned JeI for contesting the assembly elections.

Abdullah paid obeisance at the Sufi shrine of Sheikh Hamza Makhdoomi.

He said he prayed for the end of "chaos in the country" and strengthening of brotherhood between different communities.