New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sudhanshu Trivedi on Saturday slammed Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for “justifying” the act of defacing the national emblem inscribed on the foundation stone of the renovated Hazratbal Shrine.
He called CM Abdullah’s remarks questioning the use of the national emblem on the plaque of the shrine “utter disrespect” of a national symbol.
Trivedi said, “Utter disrespect to the national emblem by the leader of the INDI Alliance and CM of J-K. Omar Abdullah, rather than condemning the dastardly attack, tried to justify it.”
He also slammed Congress and called it an insult to the Constitution.
“It shows the real face of Congress and its allies that they are ready to hit the identity and symbol of India’s national pride. India’s national emblem, considered as Ashok Stambh, has been adopted as the symbol of India by our founding fathers. Disrespect to it is an utter disrespect to the Constitution, integrity and identity of India,” he said.
The BJP MP questioned Congress for not criticising the vandalism and accused the party of having a “nefarious mindset” to divide the country.
“In 1993, when terrorists captured the holy shrine, nobody said that it was an utter disrespect. On this utter disrespect of the national emblem, if the Congress and its alliance are keeping mum, it shows their nefarious mindset, which is ready to divide the country on every possible line to dilute, divert and subvert nationalism,” Trivedi said.
This comes after Omar Abdullah questioned the use of the national emblem at the shrine and said, “The first question is whether the emblem should have been etched on the foundation stone. I have never seen the emblem being used in any religious place. So, what was the compulsion to have the emblem on the stone at Hazratbal Shrine? What was the need to put up the stone? Was work not enough?”
Meanwhile, linking the incident to Bihar, Ashoka’s birthplace, Sudhanshu Trivedi took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
“Samrat Ashok was born in Bihar… It seems that Congress and its allies have taken a contract to insult the symbols associated with Bihar, from Kerala to Kashmir. I want to ask Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi that this attack on the symbol of the country’s identity and your silence on it are raising very deep questions,” he said.
He demanded an apology from the leaders of the INDIA bloc for “defending” the miscreants behind the incident.
Trivedi added, “Such thoughts towards the symbols associated with Bihar and Emperor Ashoka, and the National Emblem, which is also inscribed on the Constitution of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, show that by keeping the Constitution aside, they want to put their politics above it. They leave no stone unturned in insulting the symbols associated with Bihar. We want a clear and unambiguous answer from both these leaders and from all the parties of the INDIA alliance. They should apologise to the country for attempting to defend this attack on the identity of India.”
The row sparked after a viral video had surfaced showing a mob defacing the national emblem inscribed on the foundation stone of the shrine, which is undergoing reconstruction and redevelopment under the Waqf Board.
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