Srinagar, Feb 13: Former chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday accused the Governor’s administration of implementing BJP’s ‘hideous agenda’ in J&K by disempowering Muslims population of the state.
Addressing a press conference here in Srinagar, Mehbboba Mufti slammed the Governor administration over adopting different yardsticks for different regions in the state.
“I would like to warn the government of India to stop playing with fire. As you know, the situation is already bad, and it may further worsen if your policies to divide the state continue,” said Mehbooba.
She alleged that the Centre under its “hidden agenda” keeps on taking sensitive decisions through Governor Satya Pal Malik, which goes against the interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Governor Malik is implementing the core BJP agenda in otherwise Muslim-majority state by dividing Jammu and Kashmir into fragments and pitting different regions and communities against each other,” she alleged.
Claiming that during her party’s alliance with BJP, it did not allow the latter to implement its agenda in Jammu and Kashmir, Mufti said “since the time her government was toppled, the party (BJP) is trying to rule the state through Governor, and is making strenuous efforts to alienate the Muslims of the state.”
“You try to break the Muslim majority character of the state by disempowering Muslim population. You want to divide Muslims into pieces; you attempt to pit Shia against Sunni, Kashmiri against Punjabi and Gujjars, but we will not allow this to happen,” she added.
She added that those at the helm including Governor Malik must know that Jammu and Kashmir is a Muslim-majority state and any move aimed at alienating the majority community will have grave consequences.
Demanding rotational headquarters at both Kargil and Leh for the recently created Ladakh division, the former chief minister said it was unfortunate that the otherwise peace-loving people of Kargil are pushed to the wall with their rights being taken away from them in an unnatural manner.
The PDP President said that there is agitation in Kargil ever-since the Governor announced separate division for Ladakh. She said people in Kargil have been pushed to the wall, who are continuing protests for the fourth straight day.
Mehbooba said after Kargil, protests have also erupted in Pir Panchal and Chenab valley regions.
She claimed that BJP while being PDP’s coalition partner in the state acted as a major hurdle in creation of separate divisions for Pir Panchal and Chenab Valley.
“You cannot adopt different yardsticks for different regions of the state. There are strenuous efforts being made to create new fault-lines, pit people of the state against one another. I caution the Governor administration not to play with fire in a sensitive state like Jammu and Kashmir,” Mehbooba Mufti said.
Demanding rotational headquarter in Leh and Kargil as well as a separate division for Pir Panjal and Chenab valley, Mehbooba said the failure to do so would mean there is “some hidden agenda to disempower the Muslims of J-K and divide them on religious and sectarian lines”.
Mehbooba thanked the people of Jammu, especially the members of the Sikh community, and people in south Kashmir for arranging ‘langars’ (free kitchens) for the passengers stranded on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway which had remained closed for about a week due to snowfall.
She criticised the state administration for allegedly not doing enough to mitigate the sufferings of the people stranded on the highway.
Asked about her party’s Rajya Sabha member Mohammad Fayaz Mir appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider returning the mortal remains of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and JKLF founder Mohammad Maqbool Bhat to their respective families, Mehbooba said the PDP’s stance had not changed and their mortal remains should be returned.
“Our stance has not changed. We stand by that and want that his mortal remains be returned to his family,” she said.
Mir made the appeal in a letter to the Prime Minister on Monday, saying he was sure the sense of “alienation” among the Kashmiris would come down by several notches if the Centre decided to return the mortal remains of Guru and Bhat.
Training guns at her arch-rival national conference, Mehbooba said when Farooq Abdullah was chief minister and his son (Omar Abdullah) a union minister, they handed over seven power projects to the Centre permanently, and now adding now Rattle power project is also being handed over to the Centre “which I didn’t allow to happen during my tenure as CM.”
“JK has suffered huge losses due to Indus Waters treaty, Mehbooba said “We did not want that treaty to be scrapped, but want compensation for loses the state has suffered. We had mentioned it in our ‘Agenda of Alliance’ with BJP.”
She also said that many of her decisions like waving off stamp duty on the property owned by women were reversed by the Centre through incumbent Governor.
The PDP president was accompanied by party vice-president Abdul Rehman Veeri, chief spokesman Rafi Ahmad Mir, MLC Mohammad Khurshid Alam and Muhammad Ashraf Mir during the presser.
