Bajrang Dal adamant on starting Amarnath yatra from June 4

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 16 : Undeterred by Government warning to stop the Amarnath yatra by using force, the Bajrang Dal today reaffirmed its decision to start the annual pilgrimage from June 4.
No one could stop the Bajrangis from taking the yatra to the Holy Cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas on the auspicious day of Jeshtpurnima falling on June 4, BD, regional co-convener Nand Kishore Mishra told reporters here today, adding “We will start the annual Amarnath yatra from June 4 coinciding with Jyesht Purnima as per the religious calendar of Hindus,”.
He dared the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) and the State Government to stop the Bajrang Dal from starting the annual Amarnath Yatra from June 4.
“Anybody who tries to stop us will have to face the consequences,” Mishra said.
Lashing out at the SASB for curtailing the yatra to 39 days this year, he said the yatra period in 2009 was 60 days which was reduced to 55 days in 2010.
In 2011, the yatra period was further reduced to 45 days, Mishra said.
Angry over curtailment of the annual pilgrimage, he said the BD will launch Amarnath yatra Bachao Andolan and it would take a motor cycle rally in Jammu on May 18.
Several organisations including ABVP, SS Rajesh Kesri, Ram Sena, Rashtrawadi Shiv Sena (RSS), BJYM and other Hindu bodies would take part in the protest, Mishra said.
He reiterated that 21,000 Bajrangis will reach Jammu on June 2 to leave for Holy Cave next day from here and have darshan on Jeshtpurnima as per tradition. “We are committed to start pilgrimage on the said date despite the Government’s curbs’’, he added.
Bajrang Dal state convener, Neraj Dounierya and its co-convener Vikal Parihar were also present in the press conference.