Jammu: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has withdrawn his participation from the India Today Conclave to steer away from any likely controversy as the controversial author Salman Rushdie attended it in New Delhi on Saturday. 
Even as Chief Minister cited Rajouri situation for withdrawing his participation from the Conclave but the political observers’ belief that the decision was due to Rushdie’s visit.
In his message on micro blogging site, twitter, Omar Abdullah said, “Unfortunately with the bandh in Jammu & need to make sure Rajouri is resolved today itself I’m not able to go to Delhi for the #IT Conclave.â€
Omar Abdullah had termed the Rushdie’s Jaipur visit, which was later postponed, as “non-issue’ for Muslims, and the comment had triggered a backlash from politicians and clerics in the Kashmir.
India-born Rushdie, whose novel The Satanic Verses had prompted a fatwa from Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini, was barred to participate in a discussion at the Jaipur Literature Festival on January 21 last.
Omar Abdullah is not the only politician to have withdrawn his participation from IT Conclave as a host of speakers, including Pakistan’s cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, India Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee too backed out from it. (KMW NEWS)
