Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, Apr 4: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Friday launched a scathing attack on the ruling National Conference , accusing it of squandering the electoral mandate by focusing on “trivial” administrative matters while “ignoring” Jammu and Kashmir’s most pressing issues.
Speaking at the PDP headquarters here, Mehbooba, expressed outrage over Chief Minister Omar Abdullah convening a high-level meeting primarily to discuss the “transfer of patwaris” rather than addressing grave concerns like the “continued detention of youth, mass terminations of government employees, rampant unemployment, and the erosion of the region’s special status.”
“People believed that a new government would come and protect our rights, but instead, our rights have been robbed. They thought this government would address the hardships, the problems, unemployment, and other issues—that it would protect us. But sadly, six months have passed, and there has been no talk of the youth rotting in jails, no discussion about our employees being terminated. Daily wagers are struggling—the youth are unemployed, there’s an atmosphere of crackdowns, raids are being conducted everywhere,” Mehbooba said.
The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister as per Kashmir News Observer lambasted the NC’s reluctance to confront the Central Government on substantive issues, noting that even as basic amenities fail and institutions like the historic Jama Masjid remain shuttered, the ruling party remains silent. “They say, ‘We don’t want confrontation with the Centre. No one wants conflict with Delhi, but you surrendered before even trying! You’re too afraid to even speak about the issues for which people voted for you. For the transfer of a patwari, an entire alliance of MLAs gathers— is this why the people of Jammu and Kashmir voted for you? Is the patwari’s transfer their only concern? Is that the biggest issue—or is it the youth languishing in jails?”
She said that it is concerning that the NC led government has adopted a stoic silence on core issues confronting Jammu and Kashmir. ” The moment they [NC] formed the government, they surrendered. Now look—train being inaugurated will be stopped at Katra, —did Omar sahib speak up about this? Did he even call the railway minister? What are they even doing? They don’t take a stand on issues that actually matter. Forget Article 370—they don’t even dare take its name,” said Mehbooba.
According to the PDP President, the real problems— causing people pain every day, the growing hardships—no one talks about it. “Instead, they [NC] ask: “Why did the LG sahib transfer the patwari? Why can’t we do it?” To me, this is absurd. A government with such a massive mandate—and they’re wasting time on petty issues, calling big meetings over trivial matters. This, I believe, is a mockery of the mandate people gave them,” said Mehbooba Mufti.
