J&K Waqf Board chairperson demands action against those trying to 'obliterate' national emblem at Hazratbal shrine

Srinagar, Sep 5 (IANS) Darakhshan Andrabi, chairperson of the J&K Waqf Board, on Friday demanded stringent action against those who tried to “obliterate” the national emblem engraved on a marble slab outside the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar city.

The Waqf board, two days back, formally inaugurated the grandly decorated and renovated interior of the Hazratbal shrine after spending crores of Rupees.

Darakhshan Andrabi had said during the inaugural function that the Waqf board had managed all funds spent on the renovation/decoration without borrowing anything from any quarter.

On Friday, some people gathered outside the shrine shouting slogans and “obliterating” the national emblem with stones.

At a press conference immediately after the incident, Darakhshan Abdrabi expressed regret over the incident and demanded action by police against those indulging in the act.

“It was not just an act to smash a stone, but a blow to the hearts of devotees and to the followers of the Constitution,” she said.

She blamed the ruling National Conference activists for indulging in the act.

“These people promised many things before coming to power, and now they are back to their old games of stone pelting and trying to disturb peace.

“They had promised in their manifesto that they would get back the Waqf Board by removing me. They could not do that, and now they are taking law and order into their hands,” she claimed.

She further claimed that the “problem” with these people is that they cannot “tolerate” anybody doing “good work.”

“Don’t they carry currency notes in their pockets bearing the national emblem? Haven’t they sworn allegiance to the national emblem before coming to power in J&K?” she asked at the press conference.

She alleged that certain leaders were trying to “politicise religion” for “personal gains.” She also claimed that after she became the chairperson of the Waqf Board, she had always tried to “keep religion away from politics.”

On the occasion of the ‘Eid-e-Milad’ (Birthday of the Prophet) on Friday, the year’s largest gathering of devout Muslims from all over the Valley is gathering at the Hazratbal shrine to spend the night in prayer and penance.

--IANS

sq/dan