Kishtwar clashes: Omar Abdullah invokes Narendra Modi to counter BJP on violence in Kashmir

New Delhi/Srinagar: There have been fresh clashes today in Kishtwar, the nucleus of communal violence in Jammu and Kashmir over the weekend. Attacked by the opposition for allegedly failing to check the violence, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has retaliated by accusing the BJP of being "hypocrites" and ignoring major lapses by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in 2002 when his state was lacerated by riots.

In parliament, the BJP's Arun Jaitley ardently objected to his detention in Jammu yesterday by the state government to keep him from visiting Kishtwar. He compared it to "censorship" and said, "Kashmir is not the private property of one family."

Omar's father, Farooq Abdullah, rebutted Mr Jaitley in parliament saying, "Nobody was allowed into Gujarat after the riots... it's not the property of Modi." He was referring to the 2002 Gujarat riots under the watch of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, expected to be named presumptive prime minister of the BJP. (Track live updates)

On Twitter, Omar Abdullah said, "Their star PM hopeful waited days to call out the army & has yet to apologise. Hypocrites."

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The J&K chief minister found some support from the Centre. Acting Home Minister P Chidambaram defended the decision not to allow Mr Jaitley to visit Kishtwar, saying the forces on ground were the best judge. He pointed out that there was "strict curfew" and rejected the BJP's contention that curfew cannot impede the visit of  a leader of Mr Jaitey's stature. "It is status-neutral," he said.

Mr Abdullah had said on the weekend that politicians would not be allowed to visit Kishtwar or other violence-hit towns until normalcy was restored, because some parties, he said, wanted to exploit communal conflict ahead of national elections. (Who speaks first on Kishtwar leads to battle in Rajya Sabha)

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Three people have died and eight towns including Kishtwar are under curfew. The violence began on Friday. Mr Jaitley has questioned the role of Sajjad Ahmed Kichloo, who was reportedly present in Kishtwar when the clashes began on Eid. Mr Kichloo has resigned as Kashmir's junior Home Minister till an inquiry by a retired judge is completed.

Opposition parties have alleged that the Kashmir government was warned by intelligence agencies of escalating tension, and that the army was called in too late to help restore law and order. (Mayawati demands President's rule in Kashmir)