Naveed ul Haq
Budgam, Nov 8: Accusing National Conference of supporting the execution of Maqbool Bhat and Afzal Guru, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is implementing the agenda of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jammu and Kashmir.
Talking to reporters after addressing an election rally in Budgam, the former J&K Chief Minister said, “We did not hang Maqbool Bhat and Afzal Guru — it was Omar Abdullah and his party NC who backed their hanging. If we ever formed governments with Congress or BJP, we did it for the welfare of the people.”
She said the biggest fear of haunting the National Conference today is the PDP, “It was PDP that opened the Muzaffarabad road, abolished POTA, disbanded the Task Force, brought India’s national leadership to Hurriyat’s doors, and withdrew FIRs against 12,000 youth. What has Omar Sahib done till today? Instead, he is now endorsing what the BJP has done in J&K since 2019,” she said.
Accusing Omar Abdullah of maintaining silence on key public issues, she said, “When government employees are terminated, Omar Sahib is silent. When bulldozers run over people’s homes, he is silent. When Vande Mataram is imposed, he remains silent. He is only running the BJP’s agenda.”
Mehbooba said the PDP continues to stand firm on its agenda and commitment to people’s welfare. “We have said that the youth lodged in jails outside J&K must be brought back. Omar Sahib doesn’t want that. We have also said that poor families living on gascharai lands should be given ownership rights, and we will continue to fight for that,” she said.
Taking a jibe at Omar Abdullah’s promises, the PDP chief said, “He said he would provide 200 units of free electricity, free gas cylinders, one lakh jobs, and 10 kg free ration—did PDP stop him? He hasn’t looked back at Budgam for a year. What’s stopping him now? The truth is, he is afraid of PDP, and rightly so.”
