Congress Wants PM Modi To Make Statement In Parliament On Jammu And Kashmir Situation

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

**EDS: TV GRAB** New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks in the Lok Sabha during the 'Motion of Thanks on President's Address', at Parliament in New Delhi, Tuesday, June 25, 2109.

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday condemned the government's decision to curtail the Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir. The party said the entire country is worried and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should make a statement in Parliament on the current situation in state. 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 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. "The advisory that was issued by the Home Ministry yesterday is worrisome and people of the entire nation as well as of Jammu and Kashmir are scared. No government has ever asked tourists to go back. Such thing has never happened," Azad said. 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. Tourists, pilgrims leave Valley in wake of J&K advisory Tourists and Amarnath Yatra pilgrims started to leave the Kashmir Valley in the wake of J&K authorities issuing an advisory. An official at Srinagar Airport said Indian Air Force flights have been pressed into service "as per requirement", PTI reported. Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department sent buses on Friday, immediately after the advisory was issued, to different tourist destinations to bring the tourists back to Srinagar, director, Tourism Kashmir, Nissar Wani, said. He said about 20,000-22,000 tourists were in Kashmir on Friday. "While most of them have reached Srinagar or have left the Valley, some of them are still staying. Few tourists had gone trekking in Pahalgam area and have not yet returned to their bases. Once they return, we will tell them to leave," Wani told PTI on Saturday. "We sent buses to Gulmarg, Pahalgam and other spots to bring the tourists to Srinagar and facilitate them in leaving the Valley. This went on till late into the night and I was myself monitoring the situation," he said. Wani said the tourists were lodged in different hotels in the summer capital for the night and were taken to airport early in the morning. "They were adjusted in the regular flights which usually do not see full bookings during this time of the year. About 300 of them were flown in Indian Air Force planes as well," he said. All officials at various tourist destinations have been informed to clear tourists in their areas, he added. (With Inputs From PTI)