BJP leader Shadab Shams said that pilgrims dying in Yatra believe they are attaining Moksha
Sunday, 15 May | PNS | Dehradun
A statement made by the State spokesman of Bharatiya Janata Party, Shadab Shams on the deaths of pilgrims in the Char Dham Yatra stirred a hornet’s nest on Saturday with the opposition parties launching a scathing attack on the BJP for the comment. Shams on Saturday had said that pilgrims come here with such faith that they think that even if they die during the pilgrimage, they will attain salvation (Moksha). It is pertinent to mention here that 27 pilgrims have died so far during the Char Dham Yatra. The state government is getting cornered in various quarters for these deaths and questions are being raised on the arrangements made by the government for the Char Dham pilgrims.
Taking strong exception to the statement of the BJP leader Shams, the spokesperson of Uttarakhand Congress Garima Dasauni said that it appears that the BJP leaders have lost their mind. She said that it is clear that Shams is making such an absurd comment to protect the image of his government which is getting dented by the gross mismanagement and failure to make adequate preparation for the Char Dham Yatra. “ If he believes that the people dying in the Yatra are attaining salvation then I would suggest to Shams that he too should go for Haj Yatra and attain Moksha,’’ she said.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has also strongly reacted to the purported statement of Shams. The media in-charge of the party Amit Joshi said that the statement of Shams is highly deplorable and is an insult to the followers of Hinduism. He said that pilgrims are dying in the Yatra due to the mismanagement and lack of medical facilities but Shams has put the onus of deaths of the pilgrims on them only which is not at all acceptable. He said that the statement of Shams has exposed the mindset of the ruling BJP. “ The BJP spokesman should seek apology for his statement from the pilgrims and the people of the state. He should seek forgiveness from the souls of those who have died in the Yatra,’’ he said.
