BJP Won’t Win Any Poll Without Pak: Daughter on Mufti’s PSA Charge
All of the leaders were under detention and their six-month preventive custody was ending on Thursday.
advertisement
Iltija Mufti, daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, on Friday, 7 February, slammed the central government over its decision to book Mufti and Omar Abdullah under the Public Safety Act, saying that the BJP would not have won a single election if it weren’t for Pakistan.
Tweeting from the official handle of Mufti, Iltija said that the two former CMs have been jailed for questioning the Government of India for its illegal actions in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Just because BJP intentionally conflates itself with India doesn’t mean it is India. The message is clear. Criticise BJP at your own peril,” she said.
Abdullah and Mufti, who have been under detention since August 2019, were booked under the Public Safety Act on Thursday, 6 February.
Along with the two, former NC legislator Bashir Ahmed Veeri, Sartaj Madani – Mufti's maternal uncle – and former minister Ali Mohammad Sagar were also served with a PSA notice public order by the authorities.
Iltija Mufti also said that criticising BJP’s absurd actions and policies label a person as an anti-national. Further, she called out the media for being culpable in creating a narrative that labels students, Kashmiris and Muslims as the tukde tukde gang.
“British divided India in 1947 and today a party that worships Godse is repeating history,” she said.
Further Mufti pointed out that Jammu and Kashmir has also lost 14,000 crore rupees ever since the abrogation of Article 370. Further, she also accused the BJP for dividing ‘Gandhi’s India.’
“My mother was berated as a Pakistani but it’s ironic that if it weren’t for Pakistan, BJP wouldn’t win a single election,” she said.
All of the leaders were detained in the aftermath of 5 August crackdown by the Centre on politicians following abrogation of special status of the erstwhile state, besides its bifurcation into two union territories.
Their six-month preventive custody was ending on Thursday. The PSA allows detention up to two months without trial.
Belies Centre's Normalcy Claim: J&K Parties
Mainstream parties reacted sharply to the slapping of the PSA and said the move belies the Centre's claim of normalcy in the Union Territory.
Speaking to PTI, a PDP spokesperson described the slapping of the PSA on the three leaders as "most condemnable" and said the Union government is "testing the patience of the people of Jammu and Kashmir by such undemocratic steps".
"If everything is normal in Jammu and Kashmir, why the mainstream leaders are treated like criminals?" he asked.
Puts a Question Mark on Centre’s ‘Normalcy’ Claims: Tarigami
Senior CPI(M) leader and former legislator MY Tarigami said the decision puts a question mark on the Centre's claim that the situation is normal in J&K post the abrogation of special status and bifurcation of the erstwhile state into union territories on 5 August last year.
Detention Without Charges Worst Abomination in Democracy: Chidambaram
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday slammed the government for invoking the Public Safety Act against former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah and said the detention without charges is the worst abomination in a democracy.
Mufti and Abdullah, besides two political stalwarts from the PDP and its arch-rival National Conference, were booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) by the administration on Thursday, officials in the union territory said.
In a series of tweets, Chidambaram said, "Shocked and devastated by the cruel invocation of the Public Safety Act against Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and others".
(With inputs from ANI, PTI)