Roemer called Omar's resignation in '09 'emotional reaction'

Srinagar, Sep 6 (PTI) The United States officials believed
that the resignation tendered by Jammu and Kashmir Chief
Minister Omar Abdullah in 2009 was an "emotional reaction"
which impaired his ability to focus on good governance, leaked
diplomatic cables have revealed.
In an unclassified document, the then US Ambassador to
India Timothy Roemer was assessing the fall out of Omar's
resignation on July 28, 2009 after opposition Peoples
Democratic Party leader Muzaffar Hussain Beig accused him of
being involved in the infamous Srinagar Sex Scandal of 2006.
"Post expects Abdullah to remain as CM, but his emotional
reaction combined with prior missteps (sic) impair his ability
to focus on good governance and development in J&K," Roemer
said.
Even though the Union Home Ministry issued a statement
later that day exonerating Abdullah, he had already handed in
a conditional resignation to Governor N N Vohra in which he
pledged to step down if proven guilty of the accusations.
Roemer said Abdullah's late-2008 election was viewed as a
positive generational change reflecting the beginning of
post-insurgency politics.
"However, after initial positive reviews, Abdullah has
been criticised for his inability to delegate and his
political tin ear," he added.
Commenting on the street protests over the Shopian
incident that year, Roemer's cable said J and K seems to have
entered a summer of discontent with public discord over recent
high profile crimes and PDP grasping at straws to weaken the
new government.
"As Omar Abdullah resumes his post as Chief Minister, he
will need to resist reacting to PDP provocation and instead
focus on the good governance and development pledges that got
him elected," Roemer said.