Lambi hai gham ki shaam: Omar invokes Faiz after SC's Article 370 verdict

Former Jammu and Kashmir state chief minister Omar Abdullah on Monday invoked the famous lines from revolutionary poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz after the Supreme Court of India pronounced the Article 370 verdict and upheld the unilateral abrogation of Article 370 that granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and KashmirOmar posted on social networking site X formerly twitter ldquoDil na umeed tou nahi na kaam hi tou hai Lambi hai gham ki shaam magar shaam hi tou hai which can loosely be translated as the heart is not without hope since the evening too will give way to dawnrdquoThe former chief minister said that he was disappointed with the supreme court decision however not disheartened ldquoDisappointed but not disheartened The struggle will continue It took the BJP decades to reach here We are also prepared for the long haul WeShallOvercome Article370 SICrdquo he posted on XEarlier Abdullah alongwith another former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti were placed under house arrest ahead of the Supreme Court of Indias verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution that conferred a special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and KashmirHowever Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and the police said no one was put under house arrest or arrestedEven before the Supreme Court judgement is pronounced police have sealed the doors of the residence of PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and put her under illegal house arrest the PDP said in a post on X attaching pictures of padlocked gate of her houseThe party claimed the PDP officer in Srinagar was also ldquosealedrdquo by the policeA National Conference NC leader said the main gate of the party president Farooq Abdullah and Vice President Omar Abdullahs residence was locked by the police in the morningAlso read ExJammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers Omar and Mehbooba claim under house arrest ahead of SC verdict on Article 370 police denyOmar Abdullah has been locked up in his house Democracy NCs additional state spokesperson Sara Hayat Shah said in a post on X She also attached pictures of padlocked gates of the National Conference leadersMeanwhile newswire PTI quoting officials said that the police did not allow journalists to gather near the residence at Gupkar in SrinagarA posse of police personnel was deployed at the entry point of Gupkar Road and journalists were not allowed anywhere near the residence of the NC leadersOmar Abdullah lives with his father after he vacated his official residence in October 2020While Farooq Abdullah who is a Member of Parliament from Srinagar is in Delhi for the ongoing Parliament session his son is in the valleyJammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said the news of house arrest or arrest of anyone ahead of the Supreme Court verdict on Article 370 is totally baselessPolice also said no person was under house arrestldquoNo person has been put under house arrestrdquo Srinagar Police said in a post on XHowever responding to the LGs statement Omar Abdullah said either the LG was ldquobeing dishonestrdquo or the police were acting independently of himldquoDear Mr LG these chains that have been put on my gate have not been put by me so why are you denying what your police force has done Its also possible you dont even know what your police are doing Which one is it Are you being dishonest or is your police acting independently of yourdquo the NC vice president said in a post on XHe also shared pictures of the locked gate of the residencePDP presidents daughter and her media advisor Iltija Mufti also responded to the polices claim that no one was under house arrestldquoCount the number of locks Why dont you allow the media to come amp see for themselves if we are under house arrest or not Srinagar Police or Pinocchiordquo Iltija Mufti said in a post on X With inputs from agencies