'What A Shame': Amid Waqf Row, Omar Abdullah Faces Heat For Tulip Garden 'Bonhomie' With Kiren Rijiju

Srinagar: Amid uproar over the Waqf Amendment Act, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has come under fire for accompanying Union Minority Affairs minister Kiren Rijiju during a morning walk in the popular Tulip Garden in Srinagar on Monday.

Omar and his father and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah met Rijiju in the Tulip Garden in the morning. The union minister spearheaded the centre's effort to get the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 passed in both houses of the Parliament last week. The bill became law after it received President Droupadi Murmu's assent on April 5.

Omar, Rijiju and senior Abdullah were seen shaking hands, strolling and taking pictures together with the union minister terming it a "refreshing morning walk" as he shared the photos on his X handle.

“A refreshing morning walk amid the vibrant hues of the Tulip Garden in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, with Hon’ble CM Shri @OmarAbdullah ji and also glad to meet Dr Farooq Abdullah sahab. Nature at its finest & conversations filled with warmth & vision, a truly special morning," his post read.

The opposition was quick to latch on to the meeting and censure Omar for his “bonhomie” with the ruling party at the centre. People's Conference president and legislator from Handwara Sajad Gani Lone said the J&K CM could have stayed away from Rijju who tabled the bill.

“The least Muslims of India deserved was that in J and K, the only Muslim majority province in India, the CM as a mark of protest stays away from Mr Kiren Rijju, who presented the waqf bill. Instead he tags along Farooq sahib as well. What a shame,” Lone wrote on X.

Peoples Democratic Party leader and former minister Naeem Akhtar wrote, “Waqf Law bonhomie! So soon. Not even a pretence while the ruling party members indulge in a drama in assembly over the issue. Mr Rijiju piloted the bill in parliament as minority affairs minister.”

PDP legislator from Pulwama and its youth president Waheed Para said the minority affairs minister who tabled the bill in the parliament was received by the chief minister and both did a morning walk together in Tulip garden.

“Jammu and Kashmir is a Muslim majority state. We should have been the first state to reject this law. The cabinet and the chief minister should have taken a stand. JK chief minister, who is the only Muslim CM in India and has 50 MLAs, but that made a spectacle of it the assembly. The chief minister welcomed the minister in the Tulip garden,” Parra told media persons.

The ruling party National Conference is yet to react to the opposition's criticism of its leaders meeting Rijiju during the morning walk. Earlier today, the NC legislators created uproar in the ongoing assembly session over the Waqf law which compelled the speaker Abdul Rahim Rather to adjourn the House. NC legislator and chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq demanded discussion on the law which the speaker did not allow. This led ruckus in the assembly with the speaker adjourning the proceedings twice.

Read more

1. Waqf Act Rocks Jammu Kashmir Assembly, Proceedings Adjourned; Mirwaiz's Strong Remark On Speaker
2. Waqf Amendment Act: Skipped Session As I Was Unwell, Says Bhiwandi MP From Sharad Pawar Camp
3. Waqf Amendment Bill A Trailer, BJP Will Target Gurdwaras And Churches Next: AAP MP Sanjay Singh

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