Cong wants PM to make statement on J&K situation

Condemning the government's decision to curtail the Amarnath Yatra, the Congress on Saturday said the entire country is worried and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should make a statement in Parliament on the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress office here, senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the Amarnath Yatra has never been curtailed, even when the pilgrimage was targeted by terrorists.

"The Prime Minister should make statements in both houses of Parliament on the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir. It's his duty," Azad said.

He also said that the government should clarify why additional paramilitary forces were sent to the state though it has been a lean year in terms of terrorist activities, barring the Pulwama attack.

Speaking at the same conference, senior party leader Karan Singh said everybody is in a state of shock after the government's advisory curtailing the Amarnath Yatra and asking the pilgrims and tourists to leave the state.

An atmosphere of fear and apprehension has gripped the state, he said.