NC seeks probe into 2008 Amarnath land row agitation

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Holding PDP and BJP responsible for the 2008 Amarnath land row agitation, ruling National Conference today demanded an independent probe into the circumstances leading to it.
Referring to the allegations made by NC leader Devender Singh Rana on June 5, senior party leaders including Rattan Lal Gupta in a joint statement expressed concern over the role played by the two parties in the row for alleged political gains.
"But for the political sagacity of the people, the two parties had virtually brought the state to brink of disaster," they alleged while demanding a thorough probe.
The "stoic silence maintained by the BJP and the PDP" over the statements of Rana was a "candid admission of the fact that the leaders of the two parties had held meetings and hatched the conspiracy to share the loaves of power," they alleged.

"This (the parties' involvement) is a serious matter which needs to be thoroughly investigated so that the truth is laid bare before the people of Jammu and Kashmir and those responsible should be brought to book," they also said.
Rana had alleged that the PDP and BJP hatched a conspiracy in 2008 to "trifurcate Jammu and Kashmir," to destroy the secular fabric of the state and also to pull down the then Congress-led coalition government.
In 2008, the state government had allowed transfer of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board for developing facilities for pilgrims. The decision whipped up a controversy with separatists protesting the move, while groups in Jammu supported it.