JAMMU: Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leaders today took out a peace march from CPO Chowk to Raj Bhavan in Jammu seeking free registration for the Amarnath Yatra starting from 1st July.
Headed by Manish Sahni, scores of party workers and leaders of other Hindu organizations gathered at CPO Chowk, Jammu, and took out a peace march towards Raj Bhawan Jammu. The protesters raised slogans”free Amarnath yatra registration”, “toll exemption for devotees and Langar service vehicles”, Keep the Himshivling safe for Darshan. Sahni demanded free registration for Shri Amarnath Yatris, toll exemption for devotees coming by road, and vehicles providing Langar service, including offering Darshan to the holy Himshivling during the yatra period.
He said memorandums have been submitted to the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, who is also the Chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, along with Home Minister Amit Shah and the Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir. Despite all this, there was no positive response received from anywhere.
“We belong to a country where subsidy was given for religious pilgrimages. Registration on Amarnath Yatra in 2019 was just Rs 50 which has been increased to Rs 220/120,” he said, adding that it cannot be tolerated.
Sahni said that government encroachment on the religious places of Hindus has become mere profit-making. He said that the collection in the name of registration of religious visits of Hindus in a Hindu-majority country reminds of Jaziya of the Mughal period. He said that if there is no positive response from the government, Shiv Sena will stage a Dharna at the Jantra Mantra in Delhi. Sahni said that if the BJP government sitting at the Centre does not take an immediate decision in favor of the above demands, then it should give up the claim of being a Hinduist.
Representatives of various social organizations including Thakur Hosiyar Singh Karni Sena, Col Pathania Sainik Samaj Party, All United Party, socialist Satish Poonchi, and others joined the peace march in Jammu and supported the demand of Shiv Sena.
Similarly, the same peace march was also conducted in the Sopore of Kashmir regarding the above demands.
The demonstration was led by Party Working President Abdul Rasheed in Sopore, Kashmir in which Shiv Sainiks along with local Muslim brothers participated.
Shiv Sena units across the country including Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal, Bihar, UP, Karnataka, and Assam have staged sit-in demonstrations on the above demands.
Many leaders and workers including President Women’s Wing Meenakshi Chhibber, General Secretary Vikas Bakshi, President Kamgar Raj Singh, Vice President Sanjeev Kohli, Jatindra Arora, Mangu Ram, President Udhampur Sanjeev Sharma, Geeta Lakhotra, Dimple were present on the occasion.