Srinagar, Jul 21: Senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta today said PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti should utilise her energy and time for restoration of peace in Kashmir instead of making “irresponsible statements” against the erstwhile partner.
“Mehbooba should utilise her energy and time to work on ground for the development and peace in the Valley instead of making irresponsible statements and levelling allegations which not only further tarnish her image as a politician but also invite resentment from the general public,” Gupta said in a statement here.
He slammed the former chief minister for making “highly irresponsible, false and misleading” utterances that her party legislators were being coerced to leave the party with threat of NIA raids.
He said Mehbooba had levelled false charges against the Union government and the BJP of horse trading and luring her party MLAs. “She is now dragging NIA in her politics of frustration, she has made it clear that she does not respect the premier agencies in the country.”
He said Mehbooba can go to any extent to cover her failure to keep her party intact.
“Her own failure to take MLAs together has resulted into revolt within the party and there is no role of the BJP or Union government for the developments taking place in the PDP after coalition breakup in the state last month,” he said.
Earlier, the BJP today termed as “falsehood” Mehbooba Mufti’s reported statement that her MLAs were being “threatened” with NIA raids to leave the party.
“The statement of Mehbooba reflects that she is suffering from frustration and is now banking on lies to gain public sympathy to hide her failures,” a spokesman of the BJP said in a statement here.
In an interview to a TV channel, the PDP president had said her party MLAs were being “coerced and threatened” to leave the party with NIA raids.
Avoiding a direct reference to the BJP, she accused it of horse-trading, saying several PDP MLAs had told her in person that “tremendous pressure” was being applied on them in order to wean them away from their party.
“I am not saying that New Delhi is doing it but I did talk to some people in New Delhi and told them that a perception is being created through media reports that MLAs can be bought with money or be motivated to leave the PDP for important cabinet portfolios, and if they’re rejecting even this, they’re being threatened with NIA raids,” Mehbooba Mufti told the channel.
The BJP spokesman said Mufti’s claims that her party’s members are receiving threats from the NIA are “false” as she is not able to set her house in order.
“The statement is nothing but a falsehood as the fact remains that she is not able to set her house in order as there is a mass rebellion in the PDP..,” he said
“Blaming New Delhi for breaking her party is a move to reach out to people to do away with all her wrongdoings she did as the head of the state,” the spokesman added.
He said if Mufti’s claims have some weight or are based on truth, she should not shy away from naming the PDP leaders or members who have been threatened by the NIA.
“Mufti is known for shedding crocodile tears for gaining public support to keep her sinking boat floating. At times, she claims that if New Delhi tries to break the PDP, more people like (JKLF chief) Mohammad Yasin Malik or (Hizbul Mujahideen chief) Syed Salahudin will be born.
“But the fact remains, all these things are mere ploys and political gimmicks to befool people and to toe the separatist line just to tell people that she was not going to compromise, which is far from truth. She is feeling isolated at present,” he said.
The spokesman said the BJP leadership has clarified that it is not interested in any horse-trading or formation of government and “the party’s sole agenda at present is to ensure peace and development in J-K through Governor’s rule”.
Earlier, former chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti claimed that her legislators are being coerced to leave the party with threats of NIA raids, said a media report.
Mehbooba said that several legislators told her that “tremendous pressure” was being applied on them to leave the party.
“I’m not saying that New Delhi is doing it but I did talk to some people in New Delhi and told them that a perception is being created through media reports that MLAs can be bought with money or be motivated to leave PDP for important cabinet portfolios, and if they’re rejecting even this, they’re being threatened with NIA raids,” Mehbooba Mufti was quoted as having said by News18.
Mehbooba, according to the report said that NIA element was creating an element of doubt in the Kashmir Valley that has a tendency of threatening its fabric.
“Kashmir is a place where separatism, mainstream politics and militancy often co-exist, but the threat of NIA was introducing an element of doubt in the valley which would threaten its fabric greatly,” she said, according to the report.
On her earlier statement that more Salahuddins would be born if Delhi split her party, she said: “If you break PDP, how will you face the person who braved bullets and other threats to vote for National Conference or PDP or Congress? You’ll break their faith in democracy.”
She claimed such attempts would re-create 1984-like situation when the then Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was dismissed to make way for his estranged brother-in-law Ghulam Mohammad Shah.
