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| June 3, 2012 | Amarnath row: Police arrest activists in Jammu | |
Jammu: Following clashes with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal activists, Jammu and Kashmir Police prevented them from joining the annual Amarnath Yatra on Sunday. The activists, angered by the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board’s
(SASB) decision to reduce the duration of the pilgrimage to 39 days, said they
would court arrest if the state authorities stopped them. "Whenever the Amarnath
Yatra begins, there is an uproar in the country. When the Mansarovar Yatra can
take place at the height 20,000 feet and Kedarnath visit can take place, why are
we being stopped from going there (Amarnath)? We will court arrest if the state
authorities stop us," said Rajendra Shastri, a member of theVHP. VHP has been
adamant on starting the Yatra from Jyesht Purnima, which falls on Sunday, against
the state’s schedule of June 25. Gaurav Mittal, a member of Bajrang Dal, slammed
the state government for adopting a dictatorial attitude against the outfit’s
members. "Earlier, the duration of the Amarnath Yatra was two months, but it has
been reduced to just one month and 10 days now. The motive of reducing the duration
is to finally stop the Yatra, and we will protest against it till our last breath,"
Mittal said. Over 1.40-lakh pilgrims have registered for this year's Amarnath
Yatra. In 2009, the duration of the Yatra was 60 days, which was reduced to 55
days in 2010 and to 45 days in 2011 by the SASB.
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