A massive row erupted in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar after the national emblem on a plaque at the Hazratbal Shrine was allegedly damaged by the locals on Friday. The national emblem was engraved on a plaque placed outside the main prayer room following renovation.
However, the devotees were against it and vandalised it. The video of the incident has also gone viral, in which an angry crowd can be seen damaging the national emblem.
The police have now registered a case.
BJP calls incident a terrorist act
Meanwhile, the incident has led to a war of words between the ruling National Conference (NC) and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The saffron party has blamed the NC for the incident, demanding strict action against those responsible for the act.
BJP leader Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board chairperson Darakshan Andrabi claimed she had warned the police of a ruckus, as she appealed to the DGP and the L-G to register against those involved in vandalising the inauguration plaque of the renovated mosque.
"This (incident) is not a scar on the stone, this is a scar on my heart. This is a scar on the Constitution, which the elected leaders here raise. Do the leaders here not use the emblem? Does our elected chief minister not take the emblem along?" she said.
"I want to tell police, security forces, the prime minister and the home minister that militants are not limited to jungles, they are not coming from across (the border), these hooligans are (militants), who broke the emblem with stones. They should be found and booked under the PSA (Public Safety Act). They are trying to vitiate the atmosphere here," she added.
Placing sculpted figure at shrine against Islam: NC
However, the NC slammed the BJP for the incident, with party MLA Tanvir Sadiq calling placing a sculpted figure at the revered shrine goes against Islam. "I'm not a religious scholar but in Islam, idol worship is strictly forbidden -- the gravest of sins. The foundation of our faith is Tawheed," Sadiq posted on X.
"Placing a sculpted figure at the revered Hazratbal Dargah goes against this very belief. Sacred spaces must reflect only the purity of Tawheed, nothing else."
