The Jammu and Kashmir government had said that there was no blanket ban on civilian traffic movement due to ongoing Amarnath yatra but traffic was being regulated to avoid any congestion on the highway due to heavy rush of vehicles.
Agencies
Jammu, July 11:
The BJP Wednesday slammed PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti for “politicising” the issue of restrictions on traffic movement on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway due to the ongoing Amarnath yatra, saying political interference in the matter of security will not be tolerated. The saffron party questioned the top leadership of Kashmir including National Conference leader Omar Abdallah about the inconvenience caused to public when roads are shut to allow safe passage for their convoys.
The Jammu and Kashmir government had said that there was no blanket ban on civilian traffic movement due to ongoing Amarnath yatra but traffic was being regulated to avoid any congestion on the highway due to heavy rush of vehicles. However, the Peoples Democratic Party chief claimed that because of the annual pilgrimage, inconvenience was being caused to the people of Kashmir and requested Governor Satya Pal Malik to intervene in the matter.
“Amarnath Yatra is taking place for years. But unfortunately, the arrangements done this year are against the people of Kashmir. It’s causing a lot of trouble in the day-to-day lives of local people. I would like to request the Governor to intervene in this,” Mufti told reporters on July 7.
Taking serious note of the statement, BJP National Vice-President and state in-charge Avinash Rai Khanna said: “Mehbooba Mufti should not play politics with security. As far as security is concerned, past precedence are not taken as a norm but only lessons learnt from them are used for enhancing the security cover.” “Security is paramount and any amount of political interference will not be tolerated as has been clarified by the Governor,” he claimed.
Khanna said that Mufti’s statement that during her tenure no such restrictions were in place has no meaning as she has forgotten the terror attacks that took place on yatris when she was teh chief minister. “It is for the security forces to learn lessons from the past and ensure that same mistakes are not repeated and remedial measures taken,” he added.
Khanna asked the political leaders of the state to cooperate with the security forces instead of issuing provocative statements. The BJP leader said that in western UP, during the annual Kawar Yatra, the entire national highway between Meerut, Muradabad and Haridwar is closed for a month and nobody has a problem. “Here in Kashmir, it is being closed for two hours in a day and the politicians are playing politics,” he said.
