Mehboob Mufti claimed that her father, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had decided to join hands with the BJP in the larger interest of Jammu and Kashmir.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said claimed his father, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, had stitched an alliance with the BJP in 2015 “in the larger interest of Jammu and Kashmir”, and asserted that the late former chief minister was “misunderstood” as an opportunist by the people of the erstwhile state.
Why Mufti Sayeed aligned with BJP?
Speaking at PDP’s ‘Gal Baat’ outreach programme on Sunday, where she heard people’s grievances post the 2019 abrogation of Article 370 that gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehboob Mufti claimed that Sayeed had decided to join hands with the saffron party in the larger interest of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Mufti Sahib ((PDP founder) respected the mandate of the people of Jammu who gave 28 assembly seats to BJP (in 2014 elections). This was not an easy decision. Where is the BJP and where is the PDP? And Mufti said, ‘What answer will I give to the people of Jammu?’ Mehbooba said.
‘BJP had agreed not to revoke Art 370’
Mehbooba Mufti, the only woman chief minister in Jammu and Kashmir’s history, said Agenda of Alliance of BJP-PDP coalition that collapsed in June 2018, was “made to safeguard Jammu and Kashmir and to ensure stability across the state”, and claimed that the Narendra Modi government had agreed not to revoke Article 370.
“Unfortunately, Mufti passed away, otherwise the situation in Jammu and Kashmir would have been different. He thought of Jammu and Kashmir as a mini-India and Article 370 was meant to preserve it. Now tell me, where did Jammu and Kashmir stand? I thought there would be some control (over mining activity) after the formation of a popular government, but I don’t think there is any control,” the PDP leader said.
People failed to understand Sayeed’s ‘big sacrifice’
Mufti said her father gave a “big sacrifice” for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, but neither Kashmiris, nor people of Jammu, understood Sayeed’s vision for the region. “Neither the Kashmiri people nor the Jammu people understand this.”
Meanwhile, Mehbooba emphasised the importance of preserving local languages like Dogri and Kashmiri, claiming that people in Kashmir cannot talk freely and intolerance in the country is on the rise. “This intolerance is not only towards Muslims. It is a general intolerance. If a person asks a question, there is a problem,” she alleged.
Mehbooba also trained guns on the ruling National Conference, claiming that unchecked mining, outsourcing of local businesses, rising unemployment, and drug abuse have increased public hardship in the region, and Omar Abdullah government has failed to make any difference.
