Roemer called Omar's 2009 resignation an 'emotional reaction'

Srinagar: The United States believed that the resignation tendered by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in 2009 was an “emotional reaction” which impaired his ability to focus on good governance, the leaked diplomatic cables have revealed. In an unclassified document, the then US Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer was assessing the fall out of Omar’s resignation on 28 July 2009 after opposition Peoples Democratic Party leader Muzaffar Hussain Beig accused him of being involved in the infamous Srinagar Sex Scandal of 2006.[caption id=“attachment_77424” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Image courtesy PIB”]  [/caption] “Post expects Abdullah to remain as CM, but his emotional reaction combined with prior missteps (sic) impair his ability to focus on good governance and development in J&K,” Roemer said. Even though the Union Home Ministry issued a statement later that day exonerating Abdullah, he had already handed in a conditional resignation to Governor N N Vohra in which he pledged to step down if proven guilty of the accusations. Roemer said Abdullah’s late-2008 election was viewed as a positive generational change reflecting the beginning of post-insurgency politics. “However, after initial positive reviews, Abdullah has been criticised for his inability to delegate and his political tin ear,” he added. Commenting on the street protests over the Shopian incident that year, Roemer’s cable said J and K seems to have entered a summer of discontent with public discord over recent high profile crimes and PDP grasping at straws to weaken the new government. “As Omar Abdullah resumes his post as Chief Minister, he will need to resist reacting to PDP provocation and instead focus on the good governance and development pledges that got him elected,” Roemer said. PTI