National Emblems are not used at religious places or functions, says CM Omar Abdullah

Asks Waqf Board Chairperson Darakhshan Andrabi to apologise to people

STC NEWS DESK
SRINAGAR, SEPTEMBER 06 (STC): Placing government emblems inside places of worship or using it in any religious function is not a precedent, said Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today while questioning the installation of the Ashoka emblem plaque at the Hazratbal Shrine. He has asked Waqf Board Chairperson Darakshan Andrabi to tender apology for the ‘mistake’.
“I don’t know if I should have put an emblem on that stone or not. I have not seen such an emblem being used in any religious institution or any function,” he said while speaking to media persons.
He questioned the decision behind installing the plaque. “What was the compulsion that a stone was used at Hazratbal? Wasn’t the work enough? Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah gave this image to the Dargah of Hazratbal. Tell me, did he put such a stone somewhere? Even today, people remember his work despite the fact that he did not put a stone of his name there,” he said.
He added that if the work was genuine, people would have recognised it without the need for plaques. “If a mistake was made, it should be admitted. At least apologize for it. Say that we made a mistake, it should not have been done,” Abdullah said.
According to him, government emblems are restricted to government functions and offices, not places of worship. “Mosque, Dargah, Temple, Gurudwara, these are not government institutions, these are religious institutions. Government emblems are not used in religious institutions,” he said.
(Straight Talk Communications)