J&K L-G meets political leaders, discusses yatra

: Jammu & Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha held a meeting with several political leaders of the union territory at Raj Bhawan in Srinagar on Wednesday evening.

The meeting was held to discuss the current situation in J&K and the Amarnath Yatra that will begin on Thursday.

Earlier, the invitation was extended to top leaders, including National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, chairman of the Peoples Conference Sajjad Lone, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Ravinder Raina, Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI ( M) general secretary Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami.

The Lt Governor said the meeting was held to discuss the management of Amarnath Yatra. “Met representatives of political parties & discussed arrangements and management of Shri Amarnath Yatra. The sacred pilgrimage strengthens our faith in the goodness of mankind & its successful conduct is the responsibility of every citizen of J&K UT,” tweeted Manoj Sinha, while sharing the pictures of the leaders who attended today’s meeting at Raj Bhawan.

“All the senior leaders in the meeting in one voice observed that Shri Amarnath Yatra is like a big festival, a celebration of Kashmiriyat for the common man of J&K and each and every citizen of UT will ensure warm hospitality and comfort of the pilgrims,” Sinha said in another tweet.

Earlier, both the PDP and the NC said they were not aware of the agenda of today’s meeting.

“For a meeting in the evening that is supposed to be a serious affair, the invitation is sent in the morning. What a mockery! By the way what happened to the outcome of the all-parties meeting chaired by @PMOIndiain which @OfficeOfLGJandK and @HMOIndia was also present?” tweeted PDP chief spokesman Suhail Bukhari. He, however, didn’t say whether Mehbooba Mufti will attend the meeting.

Farooq Abdullah, who was in New Delhi, reached Srinagar for the meeting. Sajjad Lone was also invited, however, his party spokesman Adnan Ashraf said he was in Delhi.

This is the first time when top leaders have been invited by Manoj Sinha after he assumed charge in August 2020. After the killing of Kashmiri migrant employee Rahul Bhat at Chadoora in Budgam in May, the leaders of People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) had met the lieutenant governor at Raj Bhawan demanding security for the migrant Pandit employees.

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WHEN TOP LEADERS HAVE BEEN INVITED BY J&K LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR MANOJ SINHA AFTER HE ASSUMED CHARGE IN AUGUST 2020