NC walks out of J&K assembly on army chief's statement

The opposition National Conference (NC) on Monday walked out of Jammu and Kashmir assembly protesting against Army Chief General Bipin Rawat's statement on the state's educational standards.

General Rawat had remarked late last week that the teachers in J&K were teaching two maps to students, one of J&K and the other of India.

Education Minister Syed Altaf Bukhari had criticised the army chief, asking him not to meddle in the affairs of education.

NC legislators led by senior leader Ali Muhammad Sagar protested the army chief's statement demanding a statement by the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on the issue in the house.

The NC also demanded a statement on the recent cordon and search operation (CASO) in Habba Kadal area of Srinagar. The opposition said such an operation had taken place after a gap of 17 years in the heart of Srinagar.

"Do you want to create a situation like south Kashmir in central and north Kashmir," Sagar asked.

CPI-M legislator Yusuf Tarigami said the army chief's statement had brought about a situation in which nobody knew who was in-charge in the state.

Later, the NC legislators walked out of the house.

--IANS

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