People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday said the only way forward for Jammu and Kashmir was to follow the vision of late (former Chief Minister) Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
She also hit out at the ruling National Conference, accusing it of doing “deals for power.”
Addressing party workers in Bijbehara, Anantnag, on the outskirts of Srinagar city, on the 10th death anniversary of the PDP founder, Mehbooba said the last decade had been long and challenging and that had her father—who she said, had “vision and foresight”—been alive, Jammu and Kashmir would not have been in its present situation.
She said his policies were aimed at protecting the interests of the people but were often misunderstood during his lifetime.
Mehbooba alleged that the current atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir is marked by fear, saying families are being devastated by detentions and uncertainty.
Referring to the Red Fort blast, she said a doctor went to Delhi and ended his life.
“A father in Kulgam set himself on fire because his son was in jail. Many of our youth are imprisoned, thousands are languishing in jails outside J&K,” she said.
Referring to her Public Interest Litigation on detainees that was rejected by the High Court, Mehbooba said the court asked her who she was to speak for them. “If I don’t speak, who will? These are poor people; they don’t even have money to travel,” she said.
She added that it was the responsibility of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, not her, to take up the issues of detainees.
“He has 50 MLAs, Rajya Sabha members and Lok Sabha members — yet he only blames the PDP,” she said.
Taking a swipe at the National Conference, Mehbooba said her father, Mufti Sayeed, never engaged in power deals.
“You have always traded power — whether it was over Afzal Guru’s hanging or Maqbool Bhat. My father tried to take Kashmir out of this mess while you did deals. The only way forward for Jammu and Kashmir is Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s vision — the path that takes Kashmir out of turmoil,” she said.
Mehbooba said Mufti Sayeed had brought “respect and dignity” to Jammu and Kashmir, recalling that even with just 16 seats, national leaders including the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited him.
She added that when the PDP later won 28 seats, top BJP leaders also sought his advice. “He told them he wanted to save Kashmir, save Article 370, open the roads, and talk to people and to Pakistan,” she said.
Criticising Omar Abdullah she said he now has 50 MLAs and three Members of Parliament yet requests Delhi for petty transfers while her father had tried to restore the dignity of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
She also targeted Omar Abdullah for his “silence” over the proposed railway line project through Pulwama, Shopian and Pahalgam, saying it threatened orchards that sustain households with unemployed youth.
“No one speaks about how this affects our orchards. Does Omar know what an orchard means to us In every home, there are at least four unemployed youth who depend on these orchards for their livelihood.
If this land is taken away, what will happen to these young people? I want to ask the union Government: if you are ready to provide jobs to these four youth in every household, then people will be willing to give their land,” she said.
