NEW DELHI: Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP Vivek K Tankha on Wednesday urged the Central government to facilitate pilgrimage to Sharda Peeth, a revered Hindu temple located across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), similar to the Kartarpur corridor.
He said, “On the other side of the LoC is our Sharda Peeth, and we want the government to discuss with Pakistan the creation of a corridor to Sharda Peeth for Kashmiri Pandits. Just as a corridor was made for Sikhs in Kartarpur, one should be made for Kashmiris as well.”
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, he also pressed on the need for the rehabilitation of displaced Kashmiri Pandits and the provision of religious access to Sharda Peeth through the LoC border.
Highlighting the plight of Kashmiri Pandits, Tankha said that while they wish to return, the lack of security and essential facilities remains a major hurdle.
Vivek Tankha mentioned that this is an old issue that remains unresolved. “There has been a lot of talk about resettling Kashmiri Pandits, but no action has been taken,” Tankha said. He added, “More than 80 per cent of Kashmiri Pandits have been displaced since the 1990s and now wish to return to Kashmir. Progress has stalled due to the lack of security and rehabilitation arrangements.”
Tankha further pointed out that significant efforts for the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits were made only during the tenure of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In an apparent reference to the film The ‘Kashmir Files’, he remarked, “We did not make film, we worked for them.”
Sharda Peeth is considered one of the 18 Maha Shakti Peethas and holds deep religious significance for followers of Hinduism.
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