Art 370 removed from J-K, not salons and razors: Giriraj Singh on Omar Abdullah's photo

After the Opposition expressed dismay over the leaked photograph of National Conference leader Omar Abdullah with a greyish-white long beard, Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Tuesday responded sharply stating that Article 370 was removed from Jammu and Kashmir, not razors and salons.

"If Omar has a long beard...Did we remove razors or salon from Jammu and Kashmir after scrapping Article 370? We did not! These people are a member of tukde-tukde gang... They have made democracy a joke," said Singh while speaking to ANI.

Soon after Omar's photo was viral on social media, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on Monday said: "This is sad and unfortunate that this is happening in our democratic country".

Responding to this, Singh said: "Banerjee is the one who is tarnishing India's democratic image. She has refused to accept the law sanctioned by our Parliament. She has passed a resolution against the Citizenship Act."

The photo of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister emerged on social media on Monday and in which the usually clean-shaven Omar is sporting a greyish-white long beard. The source of the photo, however, could not be ascertained.Omar, who has been under preventive detention along with his father and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah since August 4, a day before the Centre announced the scrapping of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir by abrogating Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution, is seen smiling in the photo.