NC and PDP Trade Accusations Over Mehbooba Mufti's Remarks; BJP Seeks PDP Ban
The ruling National Conference (NC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) engaged in a heated exchange on Monday over remarks made by former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti regarding the use of pellet guns during protests in Kashmir. The BJP has joined the fray, calling for a ban on the PDP similar to that imposed on Jamaat-e-Islami.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah demanded an apology from Ms. Mufti for her comments, which he said justified excessive force against protesters. In a recent interview, Ms. Mufti stated that security forces in Kashmir have used the pretext of militancy to justify force, whereas no such justification exists for protests in Delhi. Mr. Abdullah accused her of maintaining a dual stance — one in Jammu and Kashmir and another in the national capital.
Ms. Mufti's remarks in Urdu, “Kashmir ka banta hai” (Kashmir deserves it), were interpreted by the NC as a suggestion that all protesters in Kashmir are militants. Mr. Abdullah said such statements could discourage people from raising democratic demands, including the restoration of statehood.
PDP leaders defended Ms. Mufti, alleging that the NC was diverting attention from the arrest of 3,500 people in Jammu and Kashmir following a terror attack in Anantnag. Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra said Ms. Mufti had become a major voice for Kashmiris on issues ranging from demolitions to mass arrests. Another PDP leader, Khurshid Alam, accused Mr. Abdullah of introducing pellet guns into the state's policing apparatus during his tenure as Chief Minister.
The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference (JKPC) staged a protest in Srinagar, demanding an apology from Ms. Mufti. JKPC leader Sheikh Mohammad Imran noted that the PDP government had overseen the extensive use of pellet guns, with over 13 lakh pellets fired during its tenure.
BJP leader and Leader of Opposition Sunila Sharma accused the NC and PDP of echoing Pakistan's narrative and called for a ban on the PDP, saying their actions were akin to those of Jamaat-e-Islami and the Hurriyat Conference. She referenced the recent killing of a policeman in Anantnag to argue that there can be no politics when security forces are under attack.
