Unfurling of tri-colour at Srinagar's Lal Chowk: Issue deepens
Shiv Sena is criticising both BJP-PDP for arresting respective activists in Srinagar
A day after the arrest of nine Shiv Sena activists at Srinagar, Shiv Sena today took to streets in Jammu to protest against ruling PDP-BJP alliance. The activists were arrested while they attempted to raise national tri-colour at clock Tower in historical Lal Chowk, Jammu & Kashmir.
Jammu & Kashmir unit of Shiv Sena (Bal Thackrey) strongly condemned the arrests. "We just want answer from PDP-BJP coalition govt in J&K, as why we cannot raise or unfurl national tri-colour in Kashmir, when we are saying that J&K is an integral part of India".
The controversy of raising national tri-colour began with the statement of former Chief Minister and National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah dareing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP to raise tri-colour at Lal Chowk in Srinagar, before going to take back Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
To counter Farooq's challenge, Shiv Sena decided to raise the tri-colour at Lal Chowk. A team of the saffron party reached Srinagar and attempted to unfurl the national flag, which was foiled by the state police.
The activists were later released from the police station, on Wednesday.
Unfurling of tri-colour at Lal Chowk has always remains in controversy. Earlier too BJP activists' attempts were foiled by the successive state governments.
It was 25 years back, in January 1992, that the then BJP national president Murli Manohar Joshi in the culmination of his 'Ekta Yatra' from Kanyakumari to Kashmir had unfurled the national tri-colour at Lal Chowk under proper security cover in a special 15 minutes programme. Joshi, was then accompanied by Narendra Modi, and he termed Modi as the promising and energetic BJP leader. Modi was the convenor of then Ekta Yatra, which concluded with raising of national flag at Lal Chowk in Kashmir.
Shiv Sena leader, Manish Sahni said, "It was Modi ji himself who unfurled tri-colour at Lal Chowk, then why now his government at Centre and even J&K is stopping us to do so. So, we are criticising both Farooq Abdullah and PM Modi too."