J&K Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday extended an invitation to the regional parties, in a first major attempt by the Raj Bhawan in the Union Territory (UT) to reach out to local players since J&K’s constitutional status was ended in 2019.
The Raj Bhawan invite, according to the leaders, mentions no agenda except for seeking their participation for a “high tea”. Top leaders of the National Conference (NC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Peoples Conference (PC) and the Apni Party (AP) were among those invited.
Sources said the meeting’s main focus is the Amarnath yatra and the likely role of the local leaders to ensure a peaceful and smooth conduct of the annual pilgrimage, which will officially start from June 30 in the Kashmir Valley’s central and south districts.
