23 July 2024 Punjab Khabarnama : Welcoming the Supreme Court’s interim stay on the controversial Kanwar Yatra order of the Uttar Pradesh government, ex-Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday sought to know if Amarnath and Vaishno Devi pilgrimages, too, would be possible without Muslims.
“If the (Kanwar Yatra) order was meant to keep Muslims away, then for God’s sake, tell me, when the (Amarnath) yatra takes place here (Jammu and Kashmir)…it is not possible without the Muslims,” Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar.
Elaborating his point, he also gave the example of devotees who visit the Mata Vaishno Devi temple.
“The Amarnath yatris undertake the pilgrimage on the shoulders of Muslims. The people who take Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrims on horses or pithus (porters)…which religion do they belong to? There, the BJP does not see religion,” the National Conference vice president added.
Abdullah’s remarks came a day after the Supreme Court paused till July 26, the widely-criticised diktat of the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government, and similar directives issued in Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh. The party governs both Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh as well.
In its directive, criticised even by BJP allies, Uttar Pradesh ordered eateries and food stalls on the routes of the annual Kanwar pilgrimage, to display the names of their owners; the opposition alleged that the saffron party was trying to effect an ‘economic boycott’ of the Muslim community.
Initially, the order was issued only by the state’s Muzaffarnagar Police; the district administration made the display of names ‘voluntary’ after massive outrage. However, chief minister Yogi Adityanath extended the order across the state.