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Reacting to the termination of three government employees in Jammu and Kashmir over "terror links", Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said that the decision of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha is "fine" if the employees were given a chance to justify themselves before their termination from the service.
"If there is evidence against them and if they were given a chance to justify themselves, but they could not, then it is fine," Omar Abdullah told reporters here. "But if this step is taken without listening to them... then the law says everyone is innocent until anything is proven. They should be given a chance to speak in the court and if they cannot prove their innocence, then appropriate action should be taken," he added. Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, on Saturday, issued an order terminating three government employees of the union territory over terror links. The employees terminated are police constable Firdous Ahmad Bhat, teacher Mohammad Ashraf Bhat and Nisar Ahmad Khan, an orderly in the Forest Department. On Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's statement on the deportation of Indians from US, Omar Abdullah said, "He is the CM of Punjab, and it is only reasonable that he is concerned about his state. The issue is that only the people belonging to Punjab are not being sent back; there are people from other states, too... If he has any complaint regarding this, then it is valid." Bhagwant Mann came down hard on the Centre over the deportation of Indian citizens who allegedly illegally migrated to the United States, and said that Amritsar is being chosen deliberately to portray that only Punjabis are illegal migrants. Chief Minister Mann claimed on Friday that the second plane carrying Indian citizens who allegedly illegally migrated to the US will land in Amritsar on Saturday. He also highlighted that Pakistan, an enemy country of India, is very near to Amritsar, posing a threat. "There is a conspiracy to defame Punjab and Punjabis. The first plane landed in Amritsar. Now, a second plane (carrying Indian citizens who allegedly illegally migrated to the US) will land in Amritsar. The MEA should tell the criteria based on which Amritsar was selected to land the aircraft. You select Amritsar to defame Punjab. At the time when PM Modi and (US President) Trump were meeting, they (US authorities) must have been putting shackles on our people. Is this the gift Trump has given? America's military planes are landing in Amritsar, and an enemy country, Pakistan, is right next to it. Lahore is 40 km from there. What kind of foreign policy is this?" the Punjab CM said. (ANI)
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