Srinagar, May 13 (KNS): Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti, on Monday, termed the ongoing polls as an opportunity for people to express their pent-up emotions and convey to the BJP-led dispensation that whatever transpired on August 5, 2019, is unacceptable and must be rolled back at all costs.
Addressing poll rallies in north Kashmir's Baramulla, Mehbooba emphasized that the PDP had been a deterrent to the abrogation of Article 370. She pointed out that while efforts to break the PDP were made, Article 370 was ultimately abrogated. Reflecting on the party's history, the PDP President noted that when the PDP first formed the government in 2002, it put an end to the Ikhwan rule in Kashmir. However, she lamented the emergence of a new breed of Ikhwanis in the region, accusing them of intimidation tactics against PDP workers and families of incarcerated youth.
"When PDP formed the government for the first time in the year 2002, it ended the Ikhwan rule in Kashmir 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. Then they call the families of incarcerated youth, promising the return of their dear ones against the pledge that they would vote for them in polls," Mehbooba said.
PDP President stressed that their fight was not against any particular party or for personal gain but against the decision made on August 5, 2019. She highlighted the hardships faced by locals in Jammu and Ladakh, stating that their resources were being taken away and businesses affected. She criticized the National Conference (NC) for its silence on issues concerning Article 370 during its parliamentary tenure and reiterated the PDP's stance against the decision made in 2019.
"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. Since Article 370 was removed, it was only the PDP that took to the streets against each and every high-handedness. Our resources are being taken away- that is why I say the ongoing elections transcend party politics. The people have to 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. There were no MLAs and no popular government in place in Jammu and Kashmir.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp ChannelThe parliament members were duty-bound to raise these issues. They unfortunately preferred to remain silent. 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," Mehbooba said.
Addressing people at Sopore, the PDP President said that it aimed to address the suffocation felt by the people of Jammu and Kashmir since August 2019. She expressed confidence in the PDP's candidates, particularly in Srinagar, despite what she described as coercive tactics employed by the BJP's proxies.
"Sopre is an abode of sacrifices. You people have always rendered immense sacrifices. These are the trying circumstances as well. This fight is to send those voices to the parliament that can speak up for a disenfranchised Kashmiri who has been choked and silenced. We must remember that when Mufti Muhammad Sayeed became the Chief Minister in 2002, he repealed POTA, ended Ikhwan culture and opened roads across the LOC. Built new universities, thousands of jobs were created. All this was done by him within mere three years," she said.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the function, Mehbooba said that the ongoing election is to release those pent-up emotions that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been feeling since August 2019. "We are telling New Delhi through a ballot that the decisions are unacceptable to us. We are confident that our Srinagar candidate Waheed ur Rahman Parra is winning. It is a message from the PDP to the BJP led dispensation that you incarcerate our youth and we will by exercising our franchise will send the same youth to the parliament so that they could represent thousands like them. So that they become the voice of the voiceless. I am confident that PDP is winning with huge numbers from Srinagar in spite of all coercive tactics employed by the BJP's proxies. You must have seen the video in which an activist of a particular party is objecting to the raising of a PDP flag, threatening our worker that he will tell his boss to slap him with a PSA," Mehbooba said.
PDP candidate for Baramulla constituency, Fayaz Ahmad Mir while addressing people said that it was the PDP that strived for the creation of PAGD so that a unanimous voice could go out and oppression done against the people of Jammu and Kashmir could be opposed unitedly. "However, NC buckled under the pressure as it was sent a warning note to break the PAGD, it did so by declaring the candidates without any deliberations. What NC did is known to one and all. We wanted this fight to be fought together. This time people know that it is PDP alone that can highlight the sufferings of people in the parliament. All other parties have failed and have failed miserably," Mir said while addressing people.(KNS)