PDP attacks Amarnath accord, NC welcomes it

SRINAGAR: The Amarnath accord on Sunday drew mixed reaction from parties in Jammu and Kashmir with PDP decrying it as a "unilateral decision" and National Conference welcoming it as "a very good sign".
      
Rejecting the accord signed between the agitating Sri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti and the government under which the shrine board would be making temporary use of 40-hectares of land during the yatra period, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti said the decision over-ruled the sensitivities of the state's majority community.
     
"The decision has been taken unilaterally by the Central Government, which has not taken care of the sensitivity of the majority community," she said.
 
"Any decision on this matter should have been taken only through consensus," Mehbooba said in a statement, adding a "Jammu appeasement policy will further increase the alienation of Kashmiris".
      
She also slammed the government for not taking the coordination committee in Kashmir into confidence before arriving at the agreement and claimed both Congress and the BJP had closed their ranks to support the Jammu agitation.
 
Mehbooba also attacked former Chief Minister and National Conference leader for welcoming the agreement.
       
Abdullah termed the accord "a very good sign", which indicated that the over two-month long dispute over land transfer had reached an "amicable end".
      
"I see it as a very good sign. The hatred that was developing between between communities in the state has come to an amicable end," Abdullah said.