Jammu, March 27 Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday condemned the "unjust and illegal war imposed on Iran" and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to use his influence to end the war in the interest of humanity.
He made the statement in the Legislative Assembly as the Leader of the House after several National Conference MLAs pressed for it, even as BJP legislators maintained that the Iran crisis is an international issue and does not fall within the domain of the House.
"On behalf of myself and my colleagues, I strongly condemn this unjust and illegal war imposed on Iran. I express my deepest condolences over the loss of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his associates and all those who have lost their lives in this conflict," the chief minister said.
"I also make a sincere appeal to our prime minister to use all available diplomatic channels and relationships to help end this war at the earliest. This will benefit not just us, but humanity as a whole," Abdullah said.
The Jammu and Kashmir assembly witnessed chaotic scenes on Friday soon after the second leg of the budget session began after a five-week recess, with the National Conference, CPI(M), Congress, PDP and Independent MLAs raising slogans in support of Iran and the BJP legislators demanding a National Law University in Jammu.
When noisy scenes continued, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather adjourned the House for half an hour.
As the House assembled after the adjournment, National Conference MLA Tanvir Sadiq sought a statement from the Leader of the House against the war on Iran.
Short speeches by various MLAs in support and against the demand followed.
"The House is not united on this issue; there is no single opinion. If you wish, a discussion can be held so that differing views may be expressed. If I speak on behalf of the demand and opposition emerges afterward, it would not be appropriate," Abdullah said initially, asking the speaker to decide how to proceed.
After hearing the opinions of several members from both benches, Rather requested the chief minister to make a statement in the House, pointing out that Parliament has done so as well.
Abdullah said, "I don't think anyone can stand here and support the manner in which an unjust and illegal war has been imposed on Iran. No amount of condemnation would be sufficient to state how humanity was crushed, and the brutal way in which Iran's Supreme Leader and his close associates and relatives were killed," Abdullah said.
Stating a school was bombed, killing scores of female students, Abdullah said it is difficult to recall such a horrifying incident in the recent past.
"And what is the objective? Even now, it is not clear. If you listen to the statements coming from America, it seems even they are unsure. In the morning they speak of regime change, in the afternoon of security concerns, and by evening they talk of oil prices. Perhaps they themselves do not know why the people of Iran were made to suffer for the last three weeks," he said.
The chief minister said the BJP members are of the view that the House should not discuss matters that do not directly affect the region.
"How can they say this does not affect us? Many of our citizens are in Iran, so it directly affects us. The queues outside our petrol pumps today, isn't that affecting us directly? And above all, the pain and anguish felt by our people, that too is an impact," the chief minister said.
"It is true, we cannot stop the war by merely sitting here," he said, reminding the MLAs that, however, the Central government has repeatedly claimed that it has strong relations with many countries.
"Our relations with America and Israel are good. With Iran too, we have historically been strong. I have personally witnessed this when I served as Minister of State for External Affairs with Atal Bihari Vajpayee. India also maintains good ties with Iran's neighbouring countries," he said.
"Therefore, there should not be any objection if this House collectively appeals to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to use his office and personal diplomatic relations to help bring this war to an end as soon as possible, so that the suffering of the people there may end and Iran may once again engage peacefully with the world," Abdullah said.