Congress, separatist forces spearheaded Amarnath row : BJP

Jammu, Jul 29 (UNI) The Bharatiya Janata Party today said the issue of land transfer to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) was build up in tandem by a section of the Congress with the separatist forces in the Valley, which was led by the likes of All Party Hurriyat Conference Chairman Ali Shah Geelani and PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

Countering the statement of former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad that the present turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir is the result of a conspiracy by Hindu and Muslim hard-liners, BJP Vice President and spokesman Prof Hari Om said at a press conference here that it was an ugly attempt to hide the involvement of the Congress in the evolution of the present crisis, adding that, ''The mobilisation of masses in Kashmir against the Amarnath yatra was abetted by the Congress.'' ''Both Ali Shah Geelani and Ayesha Andrabi were left free by the Congress-led government to preach brazen communalism in the Valley,'' he said, adding that ''the placement of bureaucrats like present Governor N N Vohra, Wazahat Hibibullah and J &K Bank Chairman Haseeb Drabu in critical positions explains the gameplan of the Congress.'' Prof Hari Om, however, alleged that ''arranging the high profile meetings of PDP president Mehbooba Mufti in Pakistan to attack India's sovereignty and secular ideology has been the most shameful intervention of the Congress.'' ''The decision to revoke the land transfer order was clearly aimed at causing communal polarisation in the state,'' the BJP spokesman said and appealed to all sections of society to come forward and contribute to the ongoing movement.

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