Amarnath Yatra not possible without Muslims: Omar Abdullah on order to eateries on Kanwariya route

Srinagar: National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court's interim stay on the Kanwar Yatra order on eateries in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and said even the Amarnath Yatra can not be held without the support of Muslims.

"If the (Kanwar Yatra) order was issued to keep Muslims away from that yatra, then for God's sake tell me, when the (Amarnath) yatra takes place here, it is not possible without the Muslims," Abdullah said.

The Kanwar Yatra order should not have been there in the first place, the former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir told reporters here.

Referring to the annual Amarnath and Vaishno Devi yatras in Jammu and Kashmir, Abdullah said they are not possible without the support of Muslims.

"The Amarnath yatris undertake the yatra on the shoulders of Muslims. The people who take Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrims on horses or 'pithus' (porters), which religion do they belong to? They (BJP) do not see religion there," he added.

On Monday, the top court ordered an interim stay on the directives issued by BJP-ruled UP and Uttarakhand asking eateries along the Kanwar Yatra routes to display the names of their owners, staff and other details, a move the opposition has claimed is intended to promote religious discrimination.

To a question on the Centre's decision to revoke the ban on government employees participating in RSS functions, the NC leader said "if they have to do this", then bans on employees participating in functions of political parties should also be removed as "RSS is a political organisation".

"... such an order should be issued for political parties as well. Let the government employees come and join political parties," he said.

Abdullah, responding to a question on the Union Budget that was presented on Tuesday, said he has not had the chance to watch the proceedings in Parliament.

He added, "We will see if there is anything for Jammu and Kashmir. We have two or three important issues. Unemployment is the biggest issue in J&K. Perhaps, J&K has the highest unemployment rate in the country. We want to see if there is anything related to that."

"We have water and electricity supply problems. We want these issues to be touched in the budget. If they are not, then our two MPs will raise these issues," he said.