Omar Abdullah's silence over Kausar Nag issue raises many questions: Anurag Thakur

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Anurag Thakur said Monday that Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's silence over the Kausar Nag pilgrimage issue raises many questions.

"This yatra was started after taking permission from the government, but was cancelled right when the yatra was about to start. When we talk about bringing Kashmiri Pandits back to the state, why are they being stopped from attending the yatra?" asked Thakur.

"Why did the government cancel their permission for the visit? Also, the silence of Omar Abdullah over the whole issue raises a lot of questions. Is it that he does not want Kashmiri Pandits to return to the state?" he questioned.

Meanwhile, People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti said the issue is being politicised for no reason.

"We are the representatives of Jammu and Kashmir, we wanted to speak on this issue, but nobody is letting us talk, and people who do not even belong to the state, have been going on about it," said Mufti.

"This is not a traditional pilgrimage. I do not understand why this has been made into an issue as it is like any other pilgrimage centre. Nobody even needs any permission to go there. I think some parties just want to polarize this issue and cause a rift in Kashmir, but we will never let that happen," she added.

Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had cancelled the order permitting Kashmiri Pandits' pilgrimage to Kausar Nag, following which; the latter had sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in the matter. The pilgrimage to Kausar Nag Lake, also known as Kramsaras Tirtha yatra, has been an annual affair for the past three years but for the first time it will be led by a Kashmiri Pandit group.