News Analysis India

Tag: Omar Abdullah

  • Omar Abdullah takes to Twitter to amplify SOS messages from COVID patients

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: Amid an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah, who is popular on Twitter with 3.2 million followers, on Sunday started amplifying distress and SOS messages from COVID patients and their relatives from across the country.

    Omar, who tested positive for COVID days after taking the first vaccine dose, said he could understand the feelings of those who have their loved ones hospitalised due to the infection.

    “I want to be able to help people through this crisis as best I can because I know what’s it like to have a loved one in hospital fighting against COVID.

    To that end I’ve opened up my DMs for now & will amplify every message requesting/offering help,” Omar said before re-tweeting and re-posting SOS messages from across the country.

    Omar’s father and Lok Sabha member from Srinagar, Farooq Abdullah, had to be hospitalised after testing positive for the infection after getting his vaccine dose.

    “I know, in the grand scheme of things, it may not amount to much but every little bit helps & if even one individual benefits from a tweet of mine I’ll consider myself extremely fortunate,” Omar tweeted.

      The National Conference vice president, however, made it clear to his followers that he would not be endorsing or re-tweeting any requests for donation.

      “I apologise in advance but I won’t be tweeting requests for donations/funds because I have no way of independently verifying the antecedents of the people/organisations seeking to raise funds,” he added.

     

  • ‘For a year I dodged’: Former J&K chief minister tests positive for COVID-19

    By Online Desk
    National Conference Vice-President Omar Abdullah tested positive for the COVID-19 on Friday in Jammu and Kashmir. 

    The leader announced the news on Twitter saying that though he was asymptomatic, he will be self-isolating himself on the doctor’s advice. 

    “For a year I did my best to dodge this damn virus but it’s finally caught up with me. I tested positive for COVID-19 this afternoon. I’m completely asymptotic. Based on medical advice I’m self-isolating at home & monitoring my parameters like oxygen saturation levels etc.” said Omar in his tweet.

    COVID-19 cases have been rising exponentially across India in what is being called as the second-wave. 

    Night curfew and weekend lockdowns have been put in place in many states including the national capital of Delhi.

    The National Conference leader had earlier criticised the Centre on its ‘Covid-19 vaccine diplomacy’. He had advocated that the people of India should be given the vaccine first in large numbers rather than exporting to other nations. 

    These remarks by Omar Abdullah came after India claimed in the UNGA that the country has supplied more coronavirus vaccines globally than it has vaccinated its own people.

    A few days back, Omar Abdullah’s father and National Conference President Farooq Abdullah tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted at SKIMS hospital, Srinagar, for treatment.

    ALSO WATCH:

    (Inputs from PTI)

  • COVID-19 positive Farooq Abdullah getting better, says son Omar

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: National Conference (NC) president and Srinagar MP Farooq Abdullah, who is undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at SKIMS hospital here, is responding well to treatment and getting better, his son Omar Abdullah said on Tuesday.

    The 85-year-old NC president had tested positive for COVID-19 on March 30.

    After initially being in home isolation, he was shifted to the hospital on April 3 for better care.

    “My father has asked me to convey his deep gratitude to all our colleagues for these prayers & all the messages he has been receiving. He is responding well to the treatment and is getting better,” Omar Abdullah said on Twitter.

    Several leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, wished Farooq Abdullah a speedy recovery after the news of his testing positive for the disease came to light.

    Earlier, the NC held prayer meetings across Jammu and Kashmir for Farooq Abdullah’s speedy recovery and well-being.

    The prayer meeting was led by NC general secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar and a huge participation of party functionaries, delegates, workers from the parent body, youth, women’s wing, legal and minority wings, a spokesperson said.

    Religious scholars prayed for Abdullah’s recuperation, recovery, longevity and well-being, a spokesperson said.

    Addressing the functionaries, Sagar said the NC and the people of Jammu and Kashmir need Abdullah to guide them in the struggle for the restoration of their “abridged rights” by walking on the path of truth and non-violence.

    “People want him back on his feet to struggle against attempts that are being made for creating an atmosphere of discrimination in society. We need him to champion the cause of the underprivileged and the deprived.”

    “We need him to provide foresight to the efforts of numerous party men and women to work for the restoration of democracy and protection of the secular and pluralistic visage of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

    Describing Abdullah as a “peacenik”, Sagar said the NC president’s calls for peace and harmony were never borne out of fear, but pragmatism — “a trait rarely perceptible in the genetic makeup of most of the politicians in southeast Asia”.

    “I earnestly pray with all my humility to the Almighty to put our beloved leader on the path of recovery. God willing, he will bounce back and lead us in our struggle to bequeath future generations a peaceful, prosperous and stable future.”

    “May the Almighty accept our prayers and put our leader on the path of fast recovery,” he said.

    Similar prayer meetings were held at all district headquarters across Jammu and Kashmir, where party workers, constituency incharges, district presidents and other delegates prayed for the fast recovery of the Abdullah, the NC spokesperson said.

    The 85-year-old NC president tested positive for COVID-19 last week.

    He was kept in home-isolation initially, but doctors decided to shift him to a hospital on Saturday for better medical care.

  • COVID-19: Farooq Abdullah getting better, informs son Omar

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah, who was hospitalised last week after testing positive for COVID-19, is responding well to treatment and is getting better, informed his son Omar Abdullah on Tuesday.

    “My father has asked me to convey his deep gratitude to all our colleagues for these prayers and all the messages he has been receiving. He is responding well to the treatment and is getting better,” Omar said in a tweet.

    He also shared images of party workers and supporters across Jammu and Kashmir praying for the leader’s speedy recovery.

    “NC holds special prayers for speedy recovery of Dr Farooq Abdullah across Jammu and Kashmir Sagar, Kamal lead prayers at Nawa e Subha, similar meetings held at Pir Panjal, Kargil, Jammu, Chenab units,” the NC leader had tweeted.

    Farooq was admitted to a hospital in Srinagar last Saturday after he tested positive for COVID-19 on March 30.

    “Based on the advice of doctors to enable them to better monitor my father, he has been admitted to hospital in Srinagar. Our family remains grateful to everyone for their messages of support and their prayers,” Omar had said.

    The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister got diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 30, weeks after he had received his first dose of vaccine against coronavirus at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Science in Srinagar on March 2.

  • J-K L-G Sinha visits hospital to enquire about Farooq Abdullah’s health

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha visited the SKIMS hospital here on Sunday to enquire about the health of National Conference (NC) president and MP Farooq Abdullah, who is undergoing treatment for COVID-19.

    Sinha, who met Abdullah’s son and NC vice president Omar Abdullah at the hospital, instructed the doctors at the SKIMS to provide best treatment to the MP from Srinagar.

    “In Srinagar, I met Omar Abdullah at SKIMS Hospital, Soura. Enquired about Farooq Sahab’s health and instructed the doctors to provide best treatment. I pray for his long and healthy life,” the LG’s office tweeted.

    The LG also offered to shift the senior Abdullah to another facility or hospital for better monitoring and care.

    “I have also offered to shift Farooq Sahab, who is admitted at SKIMS, to another facility or hospital for better monitoring and care,” the LG’s office said.

    Omar Abdullah expressed gratitude to Sinha for visiting the hospital and offering to shift his father, and said the NC president is getting the best possible care at the SKIMS.

    “Thank you for your visit to enquire after my father @manojsinha_ ji. We are grateful for the offer to shift my father, the doctors & other medical staff at SKIMS Srinagar are amongst the best anywhere & my father is getting the best possible care,” he wrote on Twitter.

    The 85-year-old NC president tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.

    He was kept in home isolation initially, but doctors on Saturday decided to shift him to a hospital for better medical care.

    “Based on the advice of doctors to enable them to better monitor my father, he has been admitted to hospital in Srinagar. Our family remains grateful to everyone for their messages of support & their prayers,” Omar Abdullah tweeted on Saturday.

  • National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah tests positive for COVID-19

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: National Conference president and Lok Sabha member from Srinagar Farooq Abdullah has tested positive for COVID-19, his son Omar Abdullah said on Tuesday.

    Omar urged everyone who came in contact with his father recently to get tested.

    “My father has tested positive for COVID-19 & is showing some symptoms,” Omar,  who is also vice president of the party, said in a tweet.

    “I will be self-isolating along with other family members until we get ourselves tested. I request anyone who has come in to contact with us over the last few days to take all the mandated precautions,” he added.

  • ‘Covid vaccine diplomacy has come at cost of inoculating domestic population’: Omar Abdullah

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: National Conference Vice-President Omar Abdullah on Saturday said India’s vaccine diplomacy has come at a cost as the anti-COVID shots supplied to other nations could have been put to good use domestically amidst a second spike of infections in the country.

    Omar’s remarks came after India told the United Nations General Assembly that the country has supplied more COVID-19 vaccines globally than it has vaccinated its own people.

    “With the country seeing a second spike of COVID infections vaccine diplomacy has come at a cost. These vaccines could have been put to good use domestically,” Omar wrote on Twitter.

    India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador K Nagaraj Naidu, said at the General Assembly’s informal meeting on Friday that India has been at the forefront of the global fight against COVID-19.

    India will not only be vaccinating 300 million of its own frontline workers over the next six months, but in the process has also supplied vaccines to over 70 nations, he said.

    “In fact, as of today we have supplied more vaccines globally than have vaccinated our own people,” Naidu said.

  • Ceasefire pact should act as stepping stone for resolving all impending issues: Omar

    India and Pakistan last month announced that ceasefire will be observed on the LoC and the International Border (IB).

  • Omar targets Suvendhu Adhikari over ‘Bengal will become Kashmir’ remarks

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Sunday hit out at BJP leader Suvendhu Adhikari for his remarks that West Bengal will become like Kashmir if the Trinamool Congress came back to power in the state.

    “But according to you BJP wallas Kashmir has become paradise after August 2019 so what’s wrong with West Bengal becoming Kashmir? Anyway, Bengalis love Kashmir & visit us in large numbers so we forgive you your stupid, tasteless comment,” Omar said in a tweet.

    The former J-K chief minister was reacting to Adhikari’s reported statement that West Bengal would become like Kashmir if the TMC returned to power in the assembly elections.

    Adhikari, a former TMC leader, is contesting against his former boss Mamata Banerjee from the Nandigram seat.

  • Reprehensible, savage, act of cowardice: J&K leaders condemn killing of cops by terrorist

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir political leaders, including former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, condemned the killing of two unarmed policemen by a terrorist in an upmarket Srinagar area on Friday.

    Abdullah, who is also the National Conference vice president, said the attack was “reprehensible” as the two policemen were unarmed and shot from behind.

    “I condemn this act of militant violence & send my condolences to the families of these brave men,” he tweeted.

    “What makes this attack even more reprehensible is that SgCT Mohammad Yousuf of Zurhama and Ct Suhail Ahmad of Logripora were unarmed & shot in the back.

    Senseless & cowardly at the same time,” he added.

    PDP president Mehbooba condemned the attack saying the cycle of violence only begets misery.

    “Condemn the killing of two policemen in the Baghat attack.

    My heart goes out to their families & loved ones. This cycle of violence serves no cause & begets only misery,” she tweeted.

    People’s Conference led by Sajad Lone also condemned the killing of the policemen.

    “We strongly condemn the killing of two policemen in a dastardly and savage act of senseless violence at Baghat today.

    Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of Suhail Ahmad and Mohd Yusuf in this hour of grief,” the party said. Local leaders of the BJP and the Congress also condemned the killings.

    BJP leader Altaf Thakur termed the attack an act of cowardice.

    “There is no place for such cowardly acts and the attackers must be brought to book,” he said.

    The two constables were on duty at Baghat on the high-security airport road when they were attacked.

    The terrorist, identified as Saqib, can be seen pulling out an assault rifle hidden inside his ‘pheran’, a loose over-garment worn during winters, and pumping bullets at them at close range.