Omar Abdullah asks Centre to take humanitarian view on Wangchuk

SRINAGAR: Expressing concern over Sonam Wangchuk’s deteriorating health owing to his prolonged hunger strike, J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah Thursday asked the central govt to take a humanitarian view of the issue.Wangchuk, who has been fasting for 19 days, has lost a significant amount of weight, “but the central govt does not seem concerned,” Omar said. “It should at least appeal to him to end the hunger strike. Politics has its own place but there should also be room for humanity and compassion,” he added.Omar also drew a comparison of the current dispensation’s lack of engagement with the fasting activist with UPA govt’s response to Anna Hazare’s hunger strike at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, when ministers were sent to hold talks with the anti-corruption crusader.The CM insisted that Wangchuk’s demand for accountability over the NEET examination was justified and wondered why “this govt is not paying attention to these issues”.