On the eve of commencement of annual Amarnathji yatra, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha invited heads of political parties of the Union Territory (UT) for a meeting at Raj Bhawan, here, on Wednesday evening.
Reports said the L-G has sent invitations to all political parties of J&K for a ‘high-tea’ at 6 pm, so as to have discussion and deliberation for the smooth conduct of the annual pilgrimage and ‘other issues’ related to the UT.
Sinha, who earlier in the day flagged off the first batch of Amarnath pilgrims from Jammu base camp towards cave shrine in Kashmir, is expected to return to Srinagar before 6 pm, sources said.
The leaders who have been sent invitations include National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, BJP J&K president, Ravinder Raina, People’s Conference chairman Sajad Lone, Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari, CPI (M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, and J&K Congress president G A Mir and several others.
Sources said besides yatra, the L-G is expected to hold deliberations with political leaders over the overall situation in the UT. However, whether the leaders will attend the meeting or not wasn’t confirmed immediately.
PDP chief spokesperson Suhail Bukhari in a tweet mocked the invitation and its timing. “For a meeting in the evening that is supposed to be a serious affair, the invitation is sent in the morning. What a mockery! By the way what happened to the outcome of the all parties meeting chaired by @PMOIndia in which @OfficeOfLGJandK and @HMOIndia was also present? (sic),” he tweeted.
There was no immediate reaction from the NC and other parties over the L-G's invitation.
Published 29 June 2022, 10:13 IST