The assassination attempt on former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference supremo Farooq Abdullah has triggered a political blame game, with several parties holding the Union Home Ministry responsible for the apparent security lapse.
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari noted that in the Union Territory, law and order falls directly under the Centre and the Lieutenant Governor.
“After the removal of Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir was transformed from a State into a Union Territory. Yet neither has terrorism been completely halted, nor has law and order improved. The Government of India has failed,” he said, adding that the Centre and the Union Home Ministry are directly responsible for the security breach.
Earlier, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed concern over the incident, pointing out that his father was under Z+ category security cover.
“The details are sketchy at the moment, but what is known is that a man with a loaded pistol was asked to get within range to discharge a shot. It was only the close protection team that deflected the shot & ensured that the assassination attempt was foiled,” he said.
“There are more questions than answers at the moment, including how someone was able to get this close to a Z+ NSG-protected former Chief Minister,” he added.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary also voiced serious concern, saying that security agencies must explain how such a lapse occurred.
“It is a very serious security lapse. When the former chief minister, the deputy chief minister and the advisor are present at a function, and a person is able to enter with a gun, you can imagine what the security arrangements were like,” he said.
Abdullah narrowly escaped when a gunman allegedly opened fire from behind as he was leaving a wedding function at Greater Kailash on the outskirts of Jammu on Wednesday night.
The accused, identified as 63-year-old Kamal Singh Jamwal, a resident of Purani Mandi in Jammu, was arrested. He reportedly told police that he had been waiting for an opportunity to target Abdullah for the past 20 years.
