Srinagar: PDP leader Iltija Mufti, who was on Friday questioned in connection with alleged assault of a police officer during a recent protest, asserted that she was willing to cooperate with the police inquiry but it was her right to protest peacefully for restoration of Article 370.
Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti and her daughter Iltija Mufti were booked for allegedly assaulting a police officer during a protest held by the party on Tuesday, against the striking down of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status on August 5, 2019.
A case under Sections 132, 121 and 191(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered against the duo.
On Friday, Iltija was summoned to Kothibagh police station and questioned for nearly two hours.
Addressing media persons later, the PDP leader said she told the police that she was happy to cooperate with whatever they want to know.
“If an inquiry happens against me, I am willing to cooperate with them; I am not the first woman or the last Kashmiri whom the police have summoned,” she said.
Iltija said her fight was “on behalf of every Kashmiri” and not a personal one, and that it was “not illegal”.
“Talking about Article 370 is my legal right. As an Indian citizen, I am entitled to fight peacefully for the restoration of Article 370. I want to tell the Indian government that what I am doing is not illegal,” she said.
A large number of party workers had assembled outside the police station when Iltija arrived there to be questioned. After leaving the police station, they moved to the party headquarters.
Iltija said the PDP is the only party in Jammu and Kashmir that has continuously raised its voice for restoration of Article 370 since 2019.
“Whatever crackdown has been happening on the PDP for the last seven years, it is precisely because we repeatedly talk about Article 370. Every year, the PDP has tried to hold a protest. And because of that, we have been punished; our party has been broken,” she said.
She asserted that the party will keep protesting against “what was snatched from us on August 5, 2019”.
“Until the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, the flag of Jammu and Kashmir, and the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir are restored, we will keep peacefully protesting for it,” she added.
“Peaceful protest is our right, not a luxury,” she said, asserting that if the BJP was allowed to celebrate the day Article 370 was struck down, “then give us the right to protest peacefully as well”.
Iltija said she entered politics in 2019 when her mother and the Jammu and Kashmir leadership were jailed, as she felt there was no voice left against “injustices” done to the people of the region.
“So many of our brothers are rotting in jails. So, if some action is being taken against me, it is okay. For every Kashmiri, jail and arbitrary detention have become a rite of passage, and today, I experienced some of it,” she said, adding, “I am willing to cooperate with the police.”
“If you think any person in Jammu and Kashmir will forget Article 370 (which granted autonomous status) and accept statehood (alone), know that we won’t. You persuaded the National Conference and the Congress; the BJP certainly wants us to beg for statehood. But we won’t. We will take back Article 370, our flag, and our constitution,” she added.
The PDP leader pointed out that there used to be two flags in Jammu and Kashmir — the national flag of India and the one of Jammu and Kashmir — and this was within the ambit of the Indian Constitution.
“I am not anti-national, I am not committing an act of sedition; it is my right as an Indian citizen to wage a peaceful battle for the restoration of Article 370. The government here wants us to settle for statehood, but we won’t. Until Article 370 is restored, the PDP will keep fighting,” she said.
Replying to a question about Chief Minister Omar Abdullah terming the FIR a “fixed match”, Iltija said she does not take his words seriously.
“Omar sahib continuously wants to give a clean chit to the BJP. He does not talk about Article 370 or special status. While fighting for elections, he used to talk about it every day. Today, it has become easy for him to target the PDP and not talk against the BJP. Has he raised the issue of Article 370 even once, that his party will get it back?” she asked.
“His party was not broken, but the PDP was, Mehbooba was, because she continuously talked against the abrogation of Article 370. So, I won’t take what he says very seriously,” the PDP leader said. (With PTI Inputs)
