LS Elections 2024: Mehbooba Mufti Slams BJP, Says 'People Are Voting To Give Message That Abrogation Of Article 370 Was Illegal'

People's Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti, termed the ongoing voting and polls as an opportunity for people to express their pent-up emotions and convey to the BJP-led dispensation that whatever has happened on August 5, 2019, is unacceptable and must be rolled back at all costs.

Addressing at a public rally, she emphasized that the PDP is of view that people’s participation in ongoing electoral process is just to give the central government an answer that abrogation of Article 370 is not acceptable to the people of Kashmir.

Mehbooba Mufti said, “PDP ended ikhwan ( government gunmen) in 2002 when first came in power but a new breed of Ikhwanis has been implanted in Kashmir- their only mandate is to wear ties, go to people, threaten them, and bundle the youth in police stations. Our fight is not against any party or for personal gain but against the decision made on August 5, 2019. She criticized the silence of 3 MPs of National Conference on issues concerning Article 370 during its parliamentary tenure."

She continued, "Our fight is not against any party; it is not for the chair or any post either. It is about the decision taken on August 5, 2019. Go to Jammu and see the hardships being faced by the locals there. They have no work. Their businesses are being taken away. Similar is the situation in Ladakh. The Kashmir valley has been turned into an open-air prison. A youth is taken into custody for no reason. In earlier times, if a youth was being taken into custody, the entire locality would approach the police station. At present, the situation is such that even the parents of the incarcerated youth cannot even voice for the release of their children."

Mufti alleged, “Our resources are being taken away that is why I say the ongoing elections transcend party politics. The people must decide now. NC was there in the parliament for five years when Article 370 was abrogated. Not even at a single instance did they raise the issue. The NC didn't ask why thousands of our youth are being jailed, why common people are being hounded.” 

She said, “It was the PDP that even not in parliament remained at the forefront and has been telling the union government that what was done on August 5,2019 was unconstitutional, illegal, and arbitrary. There is no other way but to roll it back."

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the function, Mehbooba said, "We are telling New Delhi through a ballot that the decisions are unacceptable to us. We are confident about winning."