Srinagar, September 5 โ Darakhshan Andrabi, Chairperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board, on Friday demanded stringent action against those who attempted to deface the national emblem engraved on a marble slab outside the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar.
The incident occurred just two days after the Waqf Board formally inaugurated the renovated interior of the Hazratbal shrine, a project completed with funds managed entirely by the board.
According to Andrabi, a group of people gathered outside the shrine shouting slogans and pelting stones at the emblem. Condemning the act at a press conference, she said, โIt was not just an act to smash a stone, but a blow to the hearts of devotees and to the followers of the Constitution.โ
She alleged that activists of the National Conference (NC) were behind the incident, accusing them of attempting to disturb peace for political purposes.
โThese people promised many things before coming to power, and now they are back to their old games of stone pelting. They had pledged in their manifesto to remove me as Waqf Board Chairperson but failed. Now they are taking law and order into their own hands,โ Andrabi claimed.
She further argued that her critics could not โtolerateโ good work. โDonโt they carry currency notes in their pockets bearing the national emblem? Havenโt they sworn allegiance to it before assuming power in J&K?โ she asked.
Accusing certain leaders of trying to โpoliticise religion for personal gains,โ Andrabi said she had always worked to keep religion away from politics since assuming charge of the Waqf Board.
The incident comes as the Hazratbal shrine hosts thousands of devotees on the occasion of Eid-e-Milad, with the Valleyโs largest gathering of the year spending the night in prayer and devotion.
