Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s administration organized a Yoga session at the Charar-e-Sharief shrine in Budgam, Kashmir, on Wednesday, to commemorate the International Day of Yoga.
The yoga event at the premises/lawns of the shrine of Kashmir’s revered sufi saint, Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani (RA), also called Alamdar e Kashmir, meanwhile, elicited a harsh reaction, including by former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah.
Omar took to Twitter to express his protest, tweeting, “The burial place of one of our most revered saints is used as a venue for a yoga day photo op!”
The burial place of one of our most revered saints is used as a venue for a yoga day photo op! pic.twitter.com/Wt7dkibvfu
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) June 21, 2023
Expressing his objection to the event, Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu tweeted, “An absolutely hare-brained, inconsiderate idea to organise a demonstration at the shrine of Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani, Sheikh-Ul-Alam (RA). I’m all for Yoga, but this is immensely problematic. Places of religious importance should be treated with utmost sensitivity.”
An absolutely hare-brained, inconsiderate idea to organize a demonstration at the shrine of Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani, Sheikh-Ul-Alam (RA).
— Junaid Azim Mattu (@Junaid_Mattu) June 21, 2023
I’m all for Yoga but this is immensely problematic. Places of religious importance should be treated with utmost sensitivity. pic.twitter.com/yzplwn82ok
In response, Basant Rath, an Odisha-born and now suspended Inspector General (IG), stated that Abdullah, the vice president of the J&K National Conference, contributed to the hardships faced by the common people in Kashmir.
Hi Omar, can I ask you thirteen questions relating to this tweet of yours? I promise I'll keep your current journalist girlfriend out of this exchange. pic.twitter.com/QnnIuF2MI3
— Basant (@KangriCarrier) June 22, 2023
Rath, who resigned from the service last year but is still awaiting acceptance, accused both leaders of rampant corruption and advised them to focus on serving the people on the ground instead of wasting time on Twitter to prove their true Muslim identity.
“Hi Omar, can I ask you thirteen questions relating to this tweet of yours? I promise I’ll keep your current journalist girlfriend out of this exchange,” he said.