Chairman of Uttarakhand Waqf Board condemns vandalism of Ashoka Emblem on foundation stone of Hazratbal Shrine

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], September 8 (ANI): Chairman of the Uttarakhand Waqf Board, Shadab Shams, strongly condemned the vandalism of the Ashoka Emblem on the foundation stone of Hazratbal Shrine in Jammu and Kashmir and demanded strict action against the people responsible for it. He slammed Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and alleged that the Chief Minister was supporting the perpetrators.
Speaking to ANI, Shadab Shams said, "Objection about idols, citing Islam's prohibition of idol worship, suggests that these extremist forces aim to divide the country. Such thinking is unrighteous and against national unity. We condemn the filth being spread. If you have the freedom to express yourself in the country, then will you insult my national symbols? We will not tolerate your actions at any cost... I demand that strict action be taken against such people. J&K CM Omar Abdullah is showing misbehaviour by supporting such people. Mehbooba Mufti is also supporting them. This shows how low-minded these people are... The cure for this hooliganism is going to happen very soon."
Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah questioned the use of the national emblem on the plaque, emphasising that government emblems are not used in religious places.
National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Sunday criticised the state's Waqf Board over the installation of a stone plaque that had the national emblem inscribed on it at the sacred site.
Speaking to reporters in Anantnag, Abdullah asserted that the concerned authorities shouldn't have installed the board at the Assar-e-Sharief Hazratbal.
"What happened in Hazratbal was wrong. They shouldn't have installed that board. My father and the people here in Habba Kadal were collecting funds for it. They reached a house where a woman had only a utensil. She gave the only thing in her possession. However, my father refused to accept it. She responded by saying, 'Sheikh sahab, I am not giving this to you. I am giving it for Nabi Kareem's Hazratbal dargah. If you don't take it, you will have to answer before Allah.' My father took the offering," Abdullah said.
A controversy erupted at the revered Hazratbal Shrine in Srinagar when a mob vandalised the Ashoka Emblem on the foundation stone, sparking a heated debate about national symbols and religious sentiments.
Earlier, Chairperson J&K Waqf Board Darakhshan Andrabi strongly condemned the vandalism of a stone plaque at the Assari Sharief Hazratbal Shrine, terming the incident a "very unfortunate".
Speaking to ANI, Andrabi said, "This incident is very unfortunate. Tarnishing the national emblem is a terrorist attack, and the attackers are the goons of a political party. These people destroyed Kashmir earlier as well, and now they have openly come inside the Dargah Sharif."
The row began 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. The Hazratbal Shrine is a revered religious site in Srinagar, housing the holy relic of the Prophet Mohammad. (ANI)