Kashmir issue a personal setback for me: Omar Abdullah

Srinagar: Kashmir has been on the boil since last month, and the common man has borne the brunt of it with large parts of Srinagar under curfew due to protests and clashes. For the Omar Abdullah government, this has been an acid test amid criticism that his National Conference government has lost control over the state.

In an exclusive interview to NDTV's Barkha Dutt, the J&K Chief Minister said that the Kashmir crisis has been a personal and a political setback for him.

He was asked, "Do you feel weakened in any part of this crisis? Do you feel it has taken away your strength in a sense to win back control in the city?"

A visibly disturbed Omar replied, "I have...There are no easy answers to that question. This has been a huge setback to me, both personally and politically."

When asked about whether he could have handled the Kashmir crisis any differently, Omar said while he was open to criticism, much of the criticism coming his way was subjective.

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He also said that in the end the responsibility was his, and he would have to "rebuild things brick by brick." (Watch)

Defending his decision to call the all-party meeting at this stage, Omar said his first priority was to bring the situation under control.

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"I was fighting a fire at that point of time, and my immediate focus was to bring the fire under control. After that, then my focus becomes how to ensure that a fire like that does not start again. I have reached the point that, touch wood, so far the fire is under control. Now, I am reaching out to the people to understand what we can do to ensure that the fire does not start again," he said.

On Saturday, Omar wrote to People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti and called her up as well, but Mehbooba rejected his request to attend the meeting on Monday. She even turned down the Prime Minister's request to attend the meeting. (Read: Mehbooba turns down PM's offer to join all-party meet)

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Addressing the press on Sunday, the PDP president explained that she thanked the Prime Minister and the Home Minister for their calls and it was painful for her to tell the Prime Minister that she couldn't attend the meet because the state government was doing nothing on the ground.