Srinagar, July 15 -- Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary on Tuesday said that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah being manhandled by security forces during his visit to the graveyard was not just a personal slight but amounted to an insult to the democratic mandate given by the people of the Union Territory

"This is a democracy where millions have sacrificed their lives for freedom. Mothers have lost sons, sisters have lost brothers, and many women have lost their husbands. This freedom has come at a high cost," Choudhary said.

He said that Omar Abdullah leads an elected government under the Constitution of India. "Whatever happened yesterday, whatever the police did, it was not just an insult to Omar Abdullah. It was a...