Modi didn’t follow Vajpayee’s ideology on J&K: Mehbooba

‘Mufti staked everything to align with BJP’
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 6: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said today that Article 370 of the Constitution of India which was abrogated by the Central Govern-ment on August 5, 2019 was to save Dogra culture and identity and asked whether curbing peaceful protests by the political parties in Jammu and Kashmir is part of ‘Ram Rajya’’ which the BJP propagates.
Addressing the PDP leaders and workers at the party headquarters here this morning, her first public address in Jammu after release from the detention, Mehbooba said when she was the Chief Minister she should have been asked (by the Central Government) to recommend abrogation of special status but they never talked about this then.
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It may be mentioned here that the PDP had shared power with the BJP from March 2015 to April 2018 during which Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Mehbooba Mufti remained the Chief Ministers of the coalition Government.
“Mufti Mohammad Sayeed staked his everything while aligning with the BJP hoping that their leadership will follow the ideology of Atal Behari Vajpayee who had visited Lahore on bus, called Pervez Musharraf to Agra for talks and ordered ceasefire on the borders,’’ Mehbooba said, adding the PDP thought that Narendra Modi will too follow Vajpayee’s ideology of ‘Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamhooriyat’ in J&K and take everybody along.
She said the PDP ignored Congress and National Conference to tie-up with the BJP for the sake of Jammu people who had given their mandate in favour of BJP (in 2014 Assembly elections) despite opposition as some people said the PDP is tying up with the “communal party’’.
But, she added, the PDP preferred the BJP to keep Jammu and Kashmir united hoping that they (the BJP) will take forward agenda of Atal Behari Vajpayee and that Modi will rise above the BJP ideology but this didn’t happen.
Mehbooba said that Article 370 was given by the Maharaja Hari Singh to save the identity of Dogras. “He (Maharaja) was apprehensive that the people from Punjab and rest parts will come and threaten the identity of Dogras. This (scraping of Article 370) cannot be done by the Parliament, because the Constitution is bigger than Parliament”, she said.
Mehbooba said that time will come when Government of India (GoI) will request people of J&K with hands folded asking ‘what more do you want besides restoration of special status, the Article 370 and Article 35-A’.
She declared that they are not going to sit silently and be like a mute spectator to the prevailing situation unless Article 370 is restored.
“Time will come, when the Government at New Delhi will request hand folded to the people what more do you want besides restoration of special status, the Article 370 and Article 35-A. Just mark my words and keep them in writing (with you)”, she said.
This was the first public function of Mehbooba Mufti, after her release from the detention, in Jammu, where she arrived on Thursday. She was shown black flags at protests by the activists of Rashtriya Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena against her remarks concerning tricolor.
The PDP chief arrived in Jammu to attend the People’s Conference for Gupkar Declaration (PCGD) meet scheduled to be held here on Saturday and chaired by the National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah.
She said they never know what will happen in Kashmir because of the situation these days. “They (BJP) are not going to rule forever. Whichever Government is in New Delhi, we will tell people that they have blundered (by scrapping Article 370). They have misused the Constitution of India. Baba Sahib (Ambedkar) has given us Constitution. I and Surinder Choudhary (her Jammu leader) have vowed to defend that”, she said.
Mehbooba vowed that the fight to restore abrogated Article 370 will be taken to the logical conclusion and alleged that the BJP ruled Government in the Centre wants to make Jammu and Kashmir a battle of ‘Dharamyudh’.
“They (BJP) want to make Jammu and Kashmir—a battle of ‘Dharamyudh’. But it is not Dharamyudh but it is all fight for vote bank politics and chair,” she said.
The PDP chief said that they (Central Government) have suppressed people in Jammu and Kashmir. “(The suppression is) like a pressure cooker. But when the pressure cooker explodes it burns down the whole house. They have created such an atmosphere. They have suppressed,” she alleged.
She castigated the BJP Government and said that they are telling the world that the situation in Kashmir is normal. “If the situation is normal, why don’t you allow people to come out and hold protests? What are you afraid of? Why are you afraid of PDP”,? she asked.
Mehbooba said that the youth of her party held protests and they were asked to give affidavit (for the release), dubbing protesters are anti-nationals. “What kind of democracy is this?, She asked.
Taking a dig at BJP led Government, PDP chief alleged, “China took 1000 square kilometers of our land. They are raising infrastructure, buildings but none of the Ministers in the Centre is ready to speak about China or their activities. They are reluctant to mention the name of China, which is setting up permanent barracks and buildings, but they turn a blind eye to it. Eighth round of talks are going on with China. You talk with China, but you feel insulted to talk to people of J&K, whose identity has been snatched from them”, she said.
Mehbooba took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not making any mention of 20 soldiers martyred in Galwan, Leh while fighting PLA troops, in his addresses in rallies during Bihar election campaign.
“They are suppressing every voice. Protestors are being lodged in jails and are being tagged anti-nationals,” said Mehbooba
Mehbooba hit out at BJP and said that the country is not being run as per the Constitution of Baba Bhim Rao Ambedkar but on the agenda of the BJP.
She said those coming here to set up industries in J&K will bring in their employees resulting into further unemployment as our children cannot compete with them due to lack of facilities here.