NC will push for passage of Shrines bill in Assembly: Abdullah

The NC president also sought the "dignified return" of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley

Former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah today said National Conference would push for the passage of the Temples and Shrines Bill in the upcoming session of the state assembly.

The Opposition NC president also sought the "dignified return" of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley.

"National Conference will push the Temples and Shrines Bill in the Legislative Assembly by evolving a wider consensus on this very important issue. We have supported the Temples and Shrines Bill in the past and we reiterate our support," Abdullah said interacting with a delegation of Kashmiri Pandits here.

The NC president reiterated his party's stand that the custody and upkeep of Temples and Hindu Shrines in the Valley should be handed over to the Pandits.

"Our Kashmiri Pandit brothers are the best possible guardians and curators that we can have for our shrines and temples. We have said this in the past and I reiterate it again today - the temples and Hindu shrines in the Valley should preferably be handed over to Kashmiri Pandit organisations who have traditionally served this function with responsibility and concern," he said.

He said National Conference was committed to the "dignified return" of Kashmiri Pandits to their homes and hearths.

"NC is committed to its resolve of working for the dignified return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandit brothers and sisters. We want them to return to their homes and hearths as their exodus has left a vacuum in our society," Abdullah said.

He said the ethos of "secularism and Kashmiriyat" was a cause for which his party had rendered "innumerable sacrifices".

"The party will continue to be a flag-bearer of reconciliation, peace and amity in the State," he added.