"Hope the Size of the Envelope Was Worth It": Omar Abdullah to Media Over Burying House Arrest News
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah lashed out at local newspapers on Monday for allegedly suppressing news about the house arrest of elected representatives on Martyrs’ Day. In a strongly worded post on X, he accused sections of the media of cowardice and selling out under pressure.
Take a look at our local newspapers – both from Jammu & from Srinagar, English & vernacular. You’ll be able to distinguish the cowards from the ones with guts. The cowards have completely buried the fact that the entire elected government was locked up yesterday along with most…
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 14, 2025
“Take a look at our local newspapers – both from Jammu and from Srinagar, English and vernacular. You’ll be able to distinguish the cowards from the ones with guts. The cowards have completely buried the fact that the entire elected government was locked up yesterday along with most elected representatives,” Abdullah wrote. “Shame on the sellouts who buried the story. I hope the size of the envelope was worth it.”
Omar Abdullah was placed under house arrest on July 13, shortly after returning from Delhi. Sharing images of police barricades and armoured vehicles stationed outside his residence, he wrote, “Democracy in J&K is a tyranny of the unelected. The unelected nominees of New Delhi locked up the elected representatives of the people of J&K.”
To borrow from the late Arun Jaitley Sb – Democracy in J&K is a tyranny of the unelected.
To put it in terms you will all understand today the unelected nominees of New Delhi locked up the elected representatives of the people of J&K. pic.twitter.com/hTkWlR0P0s— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 13, 2025
Several leaders, including former CM Farooq Abdullah, PDP chief and former CM Mehbooba Mufti, and People’s Conference leader Sajad Lone, were either detained or confined to their homes on the day Kashmiris commemorate the July 13, 1931 killings – when 22 civilians were shot dead by Dogra troops outside Srinagar Central Jail during protests against Maharaja Hari Singh’s rule.
The Union Territory administration imposed restrictions across Srinagar and denied permission for any gathering at the Martyrs’ Graveyard, citing security concerns. The National Conference’s request to restore the July 13 public holiday was also turned down.
Omar Abdullah condemned the move as “an erasure of memory.” He likened the 1931 massacre to Jallianwala Bagh, saying, “True heroes who fought against British rule in all its forms are today projected as villains only because they were Muslims.”
13th July massacre is our Jallianwala Bagh. The people who laid down their lives did so against the British. Kashmir was being ruled under the British Paramountcy. What a shame that true heroes who fought against British rule in all its forms are today projected as villains only…
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 13, 2025
Mehbooba Mufti called the administration’s actions “shameful” and said, “The day you accept our heroes as your own just as Kashmiris have embraced yours, from Mahatma Gandhi to Bhagat Singh, that day the ‘dil ki doori’ (distance of hearts) will truly end.”
Sajad Lone echoed similar concerns: “I don’t know why the union government is so keen to redefine what is sacred for the people of Kashmir. Histories that are etched in blood don’t vanish.”
In a blatantly undemocratic move homes have been locked from the outside, police & central forces deployed as jailers & major bridges in Srinagar blocked. All to stop people from visiting a historically important grave yard containing the graves of people who laid down their… https://t.co/yTC2V53VAy
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 13, 2025
Traditionally, July 13 was marked by floral tributes and official gun salutes. But post-2019, after the revocation of Article 370 and reorganisation of the state, the day was struck off the list of official holidays. Instead, Maharaja Hari Singh’s birth anniversary has been declared a public holiday.
