SRINAGAR: Expressing solidarity with those named in the 2016 Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) sedition case, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has questioned the timing of the filing of the chargesheet by Delhi Police and blamed the ruling BJP at the Centre for trying to score political points by implicating seven Kashmiri students in the case.


COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

These seven are among the 10 students, including former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar, charged by the Delhi Police for allegedly shouting anti-India slogans during an event on the university campus on February 9, 2016, to commemorate the hanging of Parliament-attack mastermind Afzal Guru.


"No surprises here. We are months away from the 2019 general election and like always, using Kashmiris to score extra political points with the Indian electorate has become somewhat of a pre-requisite," the Peoples Democratic Party chief said in a series of tweets.



"Timing of the chargesheet couldn't be any more suspicious. When UPA was in power, it decided to send Afzal Guru to the gallows and to this day, J&K is paying a price," the former J&K chief minister said.


"Wonder how many more Kashmiris, along with their families, will have to pay a price to secure the political fortunes of national parties," she said.


The PDP chief further said that the charges pressed against those named in the chargesheet are false and appear to have been done with a political vendetta against Kashmiris.


''We shook hands with BJP as they had the mandate to have talks on Jammu and Kashmir issue just like AB Vajpayee Ji held talks with Hurriyat and Pakistan. But PM Narendra Modi Ji couldn't walk on the path of Vajpayee even though he had the mandate,'' Mehbooba said accusing the BJP of not following the coalition dharma.


The reactions from the PDP president came hours after the Delhi Police filed a 1200-page log chargesheet naming former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and several others for shouting anti-national slogans during an event at the varsity campus in 2016.


The accused have been charged with offences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 124A (sedition), 143 (punishment for being a member of an unlawful assembly) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).


The chargesheet filed by Delhi Police is based on the video clip provided by Zee News along with the CCTV footage obtained from the university, mobile footage and documentary evidence.