Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Sunday condemned the vandalism of the Ashoka Emblem at the Hazratbal shrine in Jammu and Kashmir.
On Friday, a mob defaced the Ashoka Emblem engraved on the stone placed outside the main mosque in the Hazratbal shrine.
Shortly after the inauguration by the WAQF chairperson and the BJP leader in J&K, Darakshan Andrabi, people protested the move and called it an anti-Islamic practice.
Some of the religious leaders and people from civic life expressed similar views on the matter, saying these political symbols must be kept outside of the religious institutions.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also defended the view that religion and power, as embedded in the Constitution, should be separated from each other. The Ashoka Emblem is purely a political symbol, and engraving it on religious structures is not the right decision.
Meanwhile, women protesters on Friday called the move unacceptable, and if there is no emblem in the temples, churches and gurudwaras, why would the government make an exception for the holiest place for Kashmiri Muslims?
The move has created massive outrage in the Kashmir Valley, with people and Waqf officials demanding action against each other.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Rijiju said, “Hazratbal Shrine is a symbol of peace. The shrine’s deep connection to the Prophet Muhammad’s relic has truly contributed to its image as a beacon of “Faith & Unity”. I strongly condemn the vandalism of the sacred Ashoka Emblem from the Dargah Hazratbal inauguration stone.”
He was responding to Chairperson of J&K Waqf Board Dr. Darakshan Andrabi, who strongly condemned the vandalism, terming it a “terrorist attack” and demanding legal action against the perpetrators.
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.
Also Read: FIR registered in defacing of national emblem at Kashmir shrine
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