SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah on Wednesday refused to cut the ribbon at an event in Srinagar as it bore colours of the national flag. “Yeh nahin kaat sakte (We cannot cut this),” he said, turning to deputy CM Surinder Choudhary, who agreed.Omar was inaugurating the handicraft department’s ‘Know Your Artisans’ event at Kashmir Haat. When he saw the Tricolour on the ribbon, he suggested it could be untied instead.The CM and the deputy CM handed the ribbon back to the organisers after untying it and asked them to keep it respectfully.The BJP appreciated Omar’s refusal to cut the ribbon. The party’s J&K spokesperson Altaf Thakur has sought an inquiry into the incident and strict action against those responsible. He said, “Using the national flag as a ribbon to be cut during an inauguration reflects a serious lack of understanding and respect for its sanctity.”He added, “This is not a minor oversight but a grave lapse. The officers who allowed or designed such an act must be identified and suspended. Exemplary punishment is necessary to ensure that such incidents are not repeated.”
