BANDIPORA, Aug 29: An irritated chief minister of kashmir Omar Abdullah on Wednesday kicked the table in anger before opting out of an inaugural function of a sports stadium in North Kashmir, witnesses said.
They said Abdullah had to face some embarrassing moments when a packed stadium hooted during a football match at the newly constructed stadium.
The insurgency-torn Bandipora area witnessed a series of violent incidents besides an alleged staged gunbattle in which a youth was shot dead by army soldiers.
Witnesses said as the chief minister was called on the dais to deliver his address spectators gathered near the podium and chanting slogans against the killing forcing the chief minister to flee the spot in anger.
“Omar kicked the table in anger and had a heated argument with his own legislator and other dignitaries,” a witness, Ashiq Ahmed said.
However the local Member of the Legislative Assembly and member of opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Nizam-ud-din Bhat denied the reports and said the spectators were only hooting at the soccer match in sheer excitement.
“It was nothing beyond normal as happens during football matches. But the CM thought that people were hooting at him, so he got irritated and left,” Bhat said.
Witnesses said after the match some youth also raised pro-freedom slogans tore down the banners. Although Abdullah distributed prizes among players in a hasty post-match ceremony, the chief minister reportedly left without speaking a word.
The stadium was earlier scheduled to be inaugurated last month, but the function was put on hold in view of huge protests following the alleged fake encounter on July 25.
