Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir acceded to the secular India of Mahatma Gandhi, which was founded on brotherhood and communal harmony, but these are now being sought to be finished, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said on Wednesday.
She also slammed the Centre’s decision to monetise its assets across key sectors, saying whatever has been made in the country over the last 70 years is now being “sold off”.
“Jammu and Kashmir acceded to the India of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira (Gandhi) ji … The secular India where there was brotherhood and communal harmony. All this is now being sought to be finished,” Mehbooba said while talking to reporters after a party convention in Shopian district.
She said that Jammu and Kashmir would not have acceded to India if it was not a secular nation.
On the Centre’s move to monetise assets, the former chief minister said the government is selling off all the assets created over past 70 years, mainly during the Congress’ rule.
“What can you expect of this government which is selling off petrol pumps, highways, power projects? Whatever was made in past 70 years is being sold off,” Mehbooba said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday had unveiled an ambitious Rs 6 lakh crore National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) that included unlocking value by involving private companies across infrastructure sectors — from passenger trains and railway stations to airports, roads and stadiums.
Targeting the central government, Mehbooba alleged that it is “stifling voices of dissent” and anyone who speaks against it is being arrested.
Referring to the June meeting in Delhi between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and political parties from Jammu and Kashmir, the PDP chief said that she had told the prime minister during the meeting that suppression and harassment of people should end.
She accused the government of lying on arrest of political prisoners from Jammu and Kashmir.
“People are getting released after 12 years after being acquitted by courts. Just because they were under trial does not mean they were guilty. What was (BJP leader) Sadhvi Pragya Singh? She was an undertrial and yet she was made a member of parliament,” Mehbooba said.
She claimed that over 1,000 people from Jammu and Kashmir are still lodged in various jails in the country. (With PTI inputs)
