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SRINAGAR/JAMMU: On Constitution Day, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah and lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, speaking at separate functions on Wednesday, called for upholding the values enshrined in the Constitution and uphold the rights of citizens. However, while Omar expressed concern that religious educational institutions were being unfairly targeted, Sinha asserted that the “practice of rewarding separatism” had stopped after provisions of the Constitution were made fully applicable to J&K in 2019.Addressing students and faculty at the 50th annual celebration of Jamia Zia-ul-Uloom, a madrassa in Jammu’s Poonch district, Omar said “propaganda and lies” were being spread against Muslim religious institutions in many parts of the country. This was unpatriotic, he added.As the programme began with the national anthem, patriotic songs and Constitutional Day pledges, the CM said, “I wish those people who spread venom against religious educational institutions through social media and the press had been here today to witness this programme. They claim that the institutions like Zia-ul-Uloom teach nothing except communalism, and only impart religious education. But you can see that along with religious studies, they teach science, mathematics and all other subjects.”On social media, “lies are spread that these institutions promote anti-national sentiment”, where one could see here that the reality was completely different, he said.Omar said symbolic observation of Constitution Day meant nothing if its ideals were not followed. “Today, we observed Constitution Day. It does not mean we remember the Constitution just for one hour; it means we must uphold it every day. The Preamble guarantees equal rights for every religion, equal democratic rights and equality before law for all. But, we are passing through a phase where even education is being given a religious colour, where statements are made that a Muslim shouldn’t study in a medical college or that non-Hindus shouldn’t be admitted in a medical college,” the CM said.He was referring to objections raised by BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal over the admission of Muslim students, mostly from Kashmir, to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Medical College in Katra. The row erupted after only eight Hindu students from Jammu made it to the first MBBS batch of 50. The admissions were based on the NEET merit list.Omar said Zia-ul-Uloom has always supported the govt and had always helped during natural disasters. During Operation Sindoor, shells fired from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir hit the madrassa on May 7, killing a teacher and wounding three students.LG Sinha, speaking at a function held in Jammu to celebrate 75 years of the adoption of the Constitution, said that after a long wait of 67 years, all provisions of the Constitution were fully implemented in J&K, ending discrimination and injustice. He was referring to the abrogation of Article 370, which granted a special status to J&K, in August 2019.“Those who say what was achieved over the past five years, I want to tell them that the practice of rewarding separatists and torturing patriots has been stopped completely,” the LG said. “Now, J&K is moving ahead guided by ideals of equity, social and economic justice as enshrined in the Constitution by Baba Saheb Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar.”
