NC president Farooq Abdullah joins ‘Aarti’ at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine

Katra (J-K), Jun 10 (PTI) National Conference president Farooq Abdullah joined ‘Aarti’ (special prayers) at the revered Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop Trikuta hills in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday evening.

Abdullah was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Satish Sharma, grandsons Zamir and Zahir and several senior leaders of National Conference.

The former chief minister reached Katra, the base camp for pilgrims visiting the famous shrine, on board the specially designed Vade Bharat train from Srinagar this morning, his first trip after the inauguration of the service by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 6.

"Mata has invited me. What could be less than this? It is a call from Mata. Aaya hai bulawa sherawali da,” Abdullah said responding to a question about whether he intended to visit the shrine.

Before joining the evening ‘Aarti’ at the sanctum sanctorum, Abdullah said he is going for ‘darshan’ of the Mata and would seek her blessings for peace, development and communal harmony. PTI COR TAS TAS OZ OZ