Omar questions book bans, Mirwaiz seeks public disclosure of titles and reasons

Srinagar, Sept 23 (UNI) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday questioned the practice of banning books in a democracy, saying the elected government currently does not have the authority to take such decisions. Omar was responding to questions about the withdrawal of books from libraries and public institutions across J&K. The Omar Abdulla government had informed the Assembly on Tuesday that, following an extensive audit, 4,767 books had been weeded out from libraries and other public institutions. The Chief Minister said the issue raised a wider question about the banning of books in a democratic system. "I…