J&K elected govt has no say in book ban: Omar Abdullah

SRINAGAR: J&K CM Omar Abdullah said Wednesday his elected govt had no role in deciding which books are banned or withdrawn from libraries, distancing his administration from the removal of 4,249 books after a screening of more than 21 lakh volumes across the Union territory over the past two months.“I have my own views on whether books should be banned or not. But unfortunately, in the current system we in the elected govt don’t get to decide these things,” Omar said. “Then we will take a fresh look at what’s happening,” he said, referring to a future change in the administrative set-up.Home department, which handles law and order and security in the Union territory, reports directly to lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha.