BJP raps government on Amarnath Yatra decision
May 16th, 2012 - 6:47 pm ICT by IANS
Jammu, May 16 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday said the Jammu and Kashmir government’s decision to stop Hindu religious groups from starting the annual Amarnath pilgrimage from June 3 instead of the official date of June 25 was politically motivated.
“The government appears to be vitiating the atmosphere and instigating unrest on the eve of Amarnath Yatra by holding out threats of police action against the pilgrims,” said Jitendra Singh, chief spokesman of the BJP.
“The National Conference (NC)-led government is deliberately influencing the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board to instigate trouble in the Jammu region in the name of yatra duration in a bid to appease the separatist constituency in the Kashmir Valley as a part of NC’s competitive policies with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP),” Singh alleged.
The Jammu and Kashmir government Tuesday decided to stop the activists of the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) at Lakhanpur (the gateway of Jammu and Kashmir). The two organisations had announced that they would send their activists for the Amarnath pilgrimage June 3, as they want the pilgrimage to last for two months. The pilgrimage concludes August 2, the full moon day of the Hindu month of ‘Shravan’, officials said.
The authorities decided that senior police officers would take up the issue with Punjab Police to stop activists of the VHP, Bajrang Dal and other affiliated organisations at Madhopur on the Jammu-Punjab border to ensure that peace was not breached here.
The meeting was chaired by Director General of Police (DGP) Kuldeep Khoda, and was attended by top brass of para-military forces. These included the Border Security Force (BSF), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Sashatra Seema Bal (SSB), Jammu Police, CID, and deputy inspector general and senior superintendents of police of all districts from where the pilgrimage would pass.
- Differences sharpen between Amarnath board, religious groups - May 12, 2012
- Groups threaten to start Amarnath Yatra June 3 - May 19, 2012
- Five detained for locking Kashmir House in Delhi - May 18, 2012
- Amarnath yatra too short, say religious groups - Feb 29, 2012
- Government, Hindu groups clash over Amarnath yatra - Jun 09, 2011
- Bajrang Dal group stopped from going to Amarnath base camps - May 13, 2012
- VHP warns Amarnath shrine board - Mar 05, 2012
- BJP starts march to Jammu and Kashmir - Jan 25, 2011
- Amarnath yatra dates decided on religious calendar, says shrine board (Lead) - Feb 29, 2012
- BJP's Ekta Yatra reaches Pathankot, to enter Jammu Tuesday - Jan 24, 2011
- BJP leaders taken to Punjab, released (Third Lead) - Jan 25, 2011
- Hindu groups to view route to Amarnath pilgrimage - Jun 12, 2011
- BJP to go ahead with yatra, Nitish expresses disapproval (Intro Roundup) - Jan 25, 2011
- Pilgrims cannot start Amarnath Yatra before June 25 - Jun 23, 2012
- Kashmir seals border with Punjab to thwart BJP march - Jan 22, 2011
Tags: bharatiya janata party, border security force, chief spokesman, crpf, deputy inspector general, dgp, full moon day, intelligence bureau, jammu and kashmir, jammu and kashmir government, jammu region, jitendra, kashmir valley, khoda, kuldeep, police action, reserve police, seema, shrine board, vishwa hindu parishad