By IANS,
Lucknow : About 96,000 activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Thursday courted arrest across Uttar Pradesh to demand restoration of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board in Jammu and Kashmir, a VHP leader here said.
“About 15,000 VHP activists courted arrest in three districts of Uttar Pradesh – Kanpur, Allahabad and Badaun,” said Vinayakrao Deshpandey, VHP national organising secretary, at a press conference here.
The response in other districts was also as per expectations. In Faizabad district, about 200 sadhus (mendicant) courted arrest with VHP activists under the banner of Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti, he added.
The Jammu and Kashmir government in May allotted 40 hectares of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, but revoked the allotment after massive protests in the Muslim-dominated Kashmir valley. Its revocation July 1 ignited a counter agitation in the Hindu majority Jammu region for restoration of the land.
Shutdowns, curfew and violent clashes have polarised Jammu against Kashmir and led to about 40 deaths in the state. Protests over the Amarnath land row have been held in several other states too.