Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Oct 16: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti today said her party will consider supporting the National Confere-nce (NC) in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections only if the Government helps pass the PDP-sponsored Land Rights Bill and regularisation of Daily Wagers Bill in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
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Addressing reporters in Srinagar, Mufti said that NC president Farooq Abdullah had called her seeking PDP’s support for the Rajya Sabha polls. “Farooq called me and said they need our support. I told him we will discuss it with our senior leaders, but I also told him that we have introduced important bills that concern poor people: those who have lived on land for more than 30 years without ownership rights and the daily wagers who have been running Government departments for 20 to 25 years,” she said.
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Mufti said the Land Rights Bill seeks to regularise homes, shops, and villages where people have lived for decades, while the Daily Wagers Bill aims to regularise workers serving in departments such as Power, R&B, Health, and Irrigation.
“These people have kept the departments running for decades, and they survive on just Rs. 8,000 a month. If the Government helps us get at least one or two of these bills passed, then we can think about supporting the NC,” she added.
The PDP chief also criticised the Omar Abdullah-led NC Government for failing to resist what she called the “BJP’s narrative” after the abrogation of Article 370.
“After 2019, arrests were made, properties were attached, institutions were banned, and people were silenced. Instead of resisting, Omar normalized it. He said they would provide legal aid to detainees but avoided speaking about Article 370 or the Kashmir issue. He only talked about Statehood, and even that has now become a difficult issue,” she said.
Calling it a “betrayal of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Mufti said that despite claims of normalcy, the Government continues to target local institutions. “Even today, the schools run by Jamaat-e-Islami and the Falah-e-Aam Trust have been taken over. This is happening with the signatures of Ministers here,” she said.
The PDP chief also hit out at the administration for failing to deliver on promises of free LPG cylinders, 10 kilograms of ration per month, 200 units of free electricity, and one lakh jobs.
“What happened to all those promises? Even without Statehood, Kejriwal has provided free electricity, clean water, better schools, and improved health centres in Delhi. Could the Government here consider implementing similar measures? Who is stopping them?” she asked.
Mufti accused the Government of using “Statehood” as an excuse to avoid accountability and said the people of Jammu and Kashmir deserve immediate relief and justice. “We are not asking for favours, but for the rights of people who have served this administration for years and families who have lived on their land for generations,” she said.
Reiterating her stand, the PDP chief said that her party will take a final decision on whether to support the NC after internal discussions but stressed that any political cooperation will depend on the Government’s sincerity in passing these bills. “If these bills for the poor and the daily wagers are passed, we will consider supporting them,” she said.
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