Prime Minister Modi extended his greetings to the Kashmiri Pandit community on the occasion of Jyeshtha Ashtami and wished them the blessings of Mata Kheer Bhavani to give them strength, peace, and prosperity.
Zyesht Ashtami hund chu tohe saarni Mubarak! Lassiv te phalliv.
Greetings to all my Kashmiri Pandit sisters and brothers on Jyeshtha Ashtami.
May the blessings of Mata Kheer Bhawani give strength to everyone and may there be peace as well as prosperity everywhere.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 10, 2019
The festival is celebrated at the famous Kheer Bhavani temple at Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir of Goddess Ragnya Devi. The name of the temple comes from the bhog (food offering) of Kheer offered by the devotees at the temple.
Meanwhile, Har Har Modi reverberates across the Kheer Bhawani Temple in Ganderbal of Kashmir today. This is the same temple that was used by terrorist Yasin Malik (now in Tihar Jail) to show fake secularism and appear like a Gandhian. Today is different. Video: Sheikh Danish pic.twitter.com/QTbTcJjbVC
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) June 10, 2019
The devotees gathered at the temple today to offer prayers at the occasion of Jyeshtha Ashtami cheered and chanted slogans of ‘Har Har Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi’ in response to the PM Modi’s wishes. Thousands of Kashmiri Pandit devotees thronged the temple to celebrate the annual festival of Kheer Bhawani. Walking barefoot, the devotees carried rose petals and offered tribute to the goddess, while the men took a dip in the stream near the shrine. Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik also visited the Kheer Bhawani shrine to take part in the ongoing festival. National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah, Congress state president Ghulam Ahmed Mir, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav and several other political leaders were also present on the occasion.
BJP National General Secretary Sh. @rammadhavbjp offers prayers at most divine Shrine for Kashmiri Pandits at Mata Kheer Bhawani on the occasion of Ashtami Mela at District Ganderbal, Srinagar. pic.twitter.com/35D5FgCyTA
— BJP Jammu & Kashmir (@BJP4JnK) June 10, 2019
BJP National General Secretary Sh. @rammadhavbjp offers prayers at most divine Shrine for Kashmiri Pandits at Mata Kheer Bhawani on the occasion of Ashtami Mela at District Ganderbal, Srinagar. pic.twitter.com/35D5FgCyTA
— BJP Jammu & Kashmir (@BJP4JnK) June 10, 2019
Separatist leader and the Chief of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Yasin Malik, had visited the temple in 2014 and had appealed to Kashmiri Pandits to return to their homes. Malik was detained in February this year and was charged under the Public Safety Act. He was allegedly involved in the abduction of Dr. Rubiya Syed, sister of Former J&K CM and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, killing of five Indian Air Force personnel in 1990 and killing of Justice Neelkath Ganju who had pronounced death sentence to JKLF terrorist Maqbool Bhatt and Lassa Kaul, former director of Doordarshan Kendra in Srinagar.
