STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Congress said that the BJP in its desperation to climb on the ladder of power has scarified its age old ideology and proved beyond doubt that power could act as the strongest adhesive between estranged allies and conflicting interests.
In a joint statement issued here on Sunday by senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla, State General Secretaries Manmohan Singh, Manjit Singh and Faqir Nath stated that BJP exhibited utter lack of spine, failed to get its issues included in Common Minimum Programme (CMP) thus blowing into smithereens all hopes and aspirations so anxiously nurtured by the people of Jammu region.
Congress claimed that the Jammu and Kashmir Government failed to ensure a trouble-free Amarnath Yatra and claimed that worst type of situation prevailed in Jammu during the past 24 hours due to failure of government and divisional administration to regulate and ensure trouble-free Amarnath Yatra.
“The Yatris, stranded at various places on National Highway due to the abrupt suspension of pilgrimage yesterday, the violence sparked in various parts of Kashmir Valley soon after the elimination of Burhan Wani and his two associates by security forces, are facing many hardships owing to lack of proper shelter and other facilities. As a result, police stopped Amarnath-bound vehicles at Lakhanpur, Kathua, Samba, Nagrota, Patnitop and Ramban which caused heavy traffic jams. Police not only stopped Amarnath pilgrims, but also Vasihno Devi pilgrims, Kashmir-bound people and locals,” Bhalla maintained. He alleged that the Amarnath pilgrims are facing lots of problems due to lack of arrangements by the administration including non-availability of cloak rooms, chaos at registration counters at Vaishnavi Dham, Saraswati Dham, Jammu Haat and Geeta Bhawan. The authorities have also failed to construct sheds for Yatris at these places to save them from scorching heat or heavy down pour of monsoon, he added.
He made an appeal to Governor N.N Vohra who is the Chairman of the Shrine Board and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to look into the matter and resolve the problems being faced by the pilgrims. JKPCC State General Secretaries alleged that the government was working under the pressure of separatists but now it appears that the SASB is also working under the pressure of separatists.
“The government failed to attract more Yatris due to poor law and order situation in the State, Civil administration and Shri Amarnath Shrine Board for their non-seriousness and subsequent failure to provide facilities to the arriving Yatris in the city for proceeding further to the Cave Shrine for Darshan of the Holy Icelingam,” they stated.
They appealed to civil administration and the SASB to gear up their administrative machinery and provide suitable facilities of registration, issue of medical certificate and comfortable stay to the visiting Yatris so that they don’t feel handicapped in proceeding further for Darshan of Holy Lingam.
