Srinagar, September 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday defended National Conference (NC) spokesperson and MLA Tanvir Sadiq over his controversial ‘Pajama remark’, saying the statement referred to the historical poverty and hardships faced by Kashmiris.
Sadiq had triggered a political controversy while speaking on September 8, the 44th death anniversary of NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. He had said that during Sheikh Abdullah’s leadership, Kashmiris reached a stage where they could afford to wear pajamas, claiming that earlier an entire locality had only one pajama that people wore by turns.
Omar Abdullah said there was no need for Sadiq or the NC to apologise or issue a clarification, asserting that the remarks were historically accurate.
“What Tanvir said is historically accurate. He does not need to apologise or clarify what he said,” Omar told reporters.
The Chief Minister said the poverty and difficult living conditions of Kashmiris in the past had been documented by historians and were not a personal opinion expressed by Sadiq.
He referred to Walter Lawrence and other historians who wrote about Jammu and Kashmir, including the poverty of the people and the hardships created by the landlord system.
Omar said there was a time when Kashmiris were so poor that they would come to the city wearing pajamas borrowed from a mosque, stressing that this was a historical reality rather than Sadiq’s individual view.
He said Sadiq’s intention may have been to highlight the progress Kashmiris had made since those difficult times, noting that people today are educating their children and producing doctors and engineers.
Omar also alleged that the BJP and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were pursuing a common agenda by raising the controversy.
On the Congress objection to the singing of the full stanzas of Vande Mataram, Omar said the Jammu and Kashmir government was bound to follow existing laws and statutory provisions.
“We have to follow the law. If Congress comes to power, they can repeal the law. But as long as the law exists, we have to follow it,” he said.
Omar said the government function attended by two Governors, the Lieutenant Governor and the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court necessarily involved the National Anthem, while existing provisions also require the full stanzas of Vande Mataram when the National Anthem is played at government functions.
He said the provision applied across the country, including states governed by the Congress.
FOLLOW NOW
