SRINAGAR: Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah “resides in the hearts of people” whether his Dec 5 birth anniversary is declared a holiday or not, his grandson and J&K CM Omar Abdullah said Thursday, five years after the date tied to the National Conference (NC) founder was taken off the list of public holidays by the Centre-appointed lieutenant governor. “Declaring a holiday on such occasions is not within the powers of the elected govt. The decision lies with the Centre. That is why we keep saying we should have our statehood back so that we can take both big and small decisions. Holiday or not, (it) will not be the yardstick to gauge his contribution,” Omar said. The CM was responding to questions about the anniversary, which NC plans to observe on a grand scale on Friday. He was speaking on

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