Article 370 abrogation 5th anniversary: Amarnath Yatra suspended; BJP celebrates, PDP protests
On fifth anniversary of abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, security forces remain on high alert to avert any possible danger.
Security forces across the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir have been put on high alert on Monday, Augus 5, in view of fifth anniversary of abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.
Sensing possible threat to movement of security forces, the police have advised people to observe a “dry day”, meaning no movement of any security convoys. The police advisory also said there should be no movement of convoys of Amarnath Yatra pilgrims between various base camps.
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As a precautionary measure, no fresh batch of pilgrims was allowed to leave from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp towards Kashmir. "The yatra has been halted for the day as a precautionary measure. No fresh batch was allowed from Jammu to Kashmir today," an officer told PTI.
Meanwhile, the J&K unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party will hold a ‘Ekatma Mahatsav’ rally to mark the fifth anniversary and celebrate the 'complete unification' of J&K into the Indian union. The rally will be held at Bana Singh Stadium in R S Pura and security has been stepped up to maintain law and order during the event.
"The day of August 5, 2019, is a very important day in our lives. On this vital day five years ago, a historic blunder was corrected and we, the people of Jammu and Kashmir, united completely with the rest of India. We are now able to enjoy all the rights and the liberties, and are progressing on the path of development,” J-K BJP general secretary and former MLC Vibodh Gupta said.
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Opposition parties like the Congress and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) lashed out at the BJP over the abrogation of Article 370.
"What was achieved in five years, the BJP should answer to the people, especially Dogras, instead of rubbing salts on their wounds," J-K Congress chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said. He accused the party of ‘shamelessness’ in celebrating the downgrading of a historic Dogra state, which he alleged as snatched the rights, dignity and identity of the people of J&K.
Minister of Parliamentary affairs Kiren Rijiju posted on X that more decisive actions will come in the future under the current NDA government. "Congress Party is calling 5th August as "Black Day" but the whole nation celebrate 5th Aug as an anniversary of historic abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir to make India a nation with One Constitution & One Flag," he posted.
PDP will observe August 5 as a “black day” and will stage a protest outside the party headquarters on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of Article 370’s abrogation. Mehbooba Mufti in a post on X said August 5 will go down in history as a blot on Indian democracy.
“Since then, the state has been threatened into silence which is touted as ‘peace and normalcy’ to the rest of the country. Five years on the siege continues but so does the unyielding defiance & resistance. We Kashmiris refuse to be erased & unpeopled,” Mufti's post read.
(With inputs from PTI)