The Congress today accused the BJP of trying to "manufacture a controversy" over the Amarnath issue in Kashmir "in order to derive narrow electoral gains."
"They (the BJP) are trying to take the Amarnath issue to other parts of the country to create communal disharmony. But it is clear that their efforts have failed miserably," AICC national spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said.
"Today the agitation is purely political and is being conducted with a vested interest despite the fact that there is no real underlying issue," Natarajan said.
She claimed that all these years, the yatra has been peacefully conducted and has never been tainted, neither disturbed by communal clashes.
"The statements and activities of BJP also give an opportunity to anti-national elements in the Valley to mobilise counter-protests, giving rise to calls of 'azadi,'" she said.
Under the Congress government in Jammu and Kashmir, the flow of yatris increased to a record 5,29,697 in August 2008.
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"This is the highest ever number of pilgrims in over 20 years. During the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime, the number of yatris was around 1,53,314 in 2003," she said.
The Jammu and Kashmir government had assumed full responsibility to provide all facilities, including creation of required infrastructure and providing logical support for the welfare and security of Amarnath pilgrims along the 400 km route from Jammu to the holy shrine.