STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Lambasting BJP for unleashing a sinister campaign to control and monopolise the institution of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, managing well the affairs of highly revered Shrine on Trikuta Hills in Jammu, National Confere-nce on Monday asserted its determination to foil such attempts tooth and nail with support of the people.
“The arrogance of power at the Centre and in the State, together with tacit support of PDP, has revitalised the lust of BJP to the extent of even trampling the Jammu and Kashmir Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Act 1986, which has enabled this autonomous institution to attain enviable position across the country and even abroad to manage 24X7 pilgrimage successfully”, National Conference said in a joint statement issued in response to the statements of senior BJP leaders in recent days. The signatories to the joint statement included State Vice Presidents Rattan Lal Gupta and Th Kashmira Singh, State Secretary Th Rachpal Singh, Provincial Vice Presidents Jugal Mahajan, Bimla Luthra, Vijay Laxmi Dutta, Anil Dhar, Provincial Secretary Pradeep Bali and District Presidents Dr Kamal Arora, Jagjeevan Lal, Dharamveer Singh Jamwal, Satpal Lakhotra and others.
The statement says that the National Conference views seriously the tentacles being spread by the BJP to take over the control of the Shrine Board by amending the Act. Ever since the establishment of the Board, not only the Yatra has increased nearly nine fold in less than two decades due to infrastructural facilities on modern lines for pilgrims but the outreach in health and educational sectors too has been stupendous. They said this has become possible only due to non-political character of the Board and association of most distinguished persons in variant fields with it. “Even presently, the Board constitutes very prominent persons of the country, which seems to be an eyesore for the BJP and an obstacle to rehabilitate its discredited politicians in it”, the statement added.
The statement also referred to the apprehensions expressed by the Provincial President Devender Singh Rana last year in September and very recently in this regard, saying any attempt of diluting the role of Raj Bhavan in managing the affairs of the Board will be foiled at all costs.
The NC leaders said that the BJP will gradually try to interfere in Shri Amarnath Shrine Board as well with sinister motivation of thrusting its agenda on the secular and peace loving people of Jammu and Kashmir, like it did in company of PDP during 2008 Amarnath land row agitation. They said that anti-Board machinations will impact the influx of the pilgrims and eventually prove a disaster to the economy of Jammu region. “The BJP should not undermine the importance of this Yatra for the State economy in general and Jammu in particular”, the statement said, adding that this Yatra proved to be a huge economic booster for Jammu during nineties when the turbulent Valley situation had brought the tourism activity across the State to standstill.
National Conference has cautioned the BJP against any attempt to dilute the credibility, sanctity and efficacy of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.