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Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Sunday criticised the state's Waqf Board over the installation of a stone plaque that had the national emblem inscribed on it.
Speaking to reporters in Anantnag, Abdullah asserted that the concerned authorities shouldn't have installed the board at the Assar-e-Sharief Hazratbal. "What happened in Hazratbal was wrong. They shouldn't have installed that board. My father and the people here in Habba Kadal were collecting funds for it. They reached a house where a woman had only a utensil. She gave the only thing in her possession. However, my father refused to accept it. She responded by saying, 'Sheikh sahab, I am not giving this to you. I am giving it for Nabi Kareem's Hazratbal dargah. If you don't take it, you will have to answer before Allah.' My father took the offering," Abdullah said. The former CM said that the authorities made the mistake of installing the board, which compelled people to register their protest. "This dargah was constructed from the funds of people here. There was no board installation. Nobody wrote their because it was dedicated to Allah and their Rasool. They made a mistake by installing the board, which people didn't like. They voiced that it is wrong. They should understand that people here don't tolerate this," Abdullah said. Earlier, a viral video showed a mob defacing the national emblem on a marble plaque at the shrine, citing that sculpting figures goes against Islamic ethos. A controversy erupted at the revered Hazratbal Shrine in Srinagar when a mob vandalised the Ashoka Emblem on the foundation stone, sparking a heated debate about national symbols and religious sentiments. National Conference leader Tanvir Sadiq criticised the installation of the Ashoka Emblem, stating it violated Islamic principles that forbid idol worship. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti demanded action against those responsible, labelling the installation as "blasphemous" and calling for the disbandment of the Waqf Board. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah questioned the use of the national emblem on the plaque, emphasising that government emblems are not used in religious places. The Hazratbal Shrine is a revered religious site in Srinagar, housing the holy relic of the Prophet Mohammad. (ANI)
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