PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti said his party will continue to fight for special status for Jammu and Kashmir.
Srinagar:
PPD chief Mehbooba Mufti, in her first press conference since being released from 14 months in detention, said that she will not raise the national flag until the flag, constitution and status of Jammu and Kashmir are restored (according to the article 370). Ms Mufti also said that “those who feel that we have left Kashmir are wrong.”
In a scathing attack on the center, calling them “thieves” who had stolen constitutionally guaranteed rights, Mufti also said his party would not “abandon the constitutional battle” to claim special status withdrawn by the center in a contentious decision made in August of last year.
“We will raise the national flag only once the flag of our state is back. The national flag is here only because of this flag and constitution (of Jammu and Kashmir). We are linked to the rest of the country because of this flag,” said the Ms Mufti, a former senior minister, said.
“Those who feel that we will leave Kashmir are wrong,” he said, adding that he will not contest any elections until Article 370 is reinstated. “I have contested elections under our own constitution. How can I contest elections when that constitution has been abolished?” , He said.
There were strong visual cues of Ms. Mufti’s intention at today’s press conference. The former chief minister kept two flags on her desk while addressing reporters: her party’s (the Democratic People’s Republic) and the old J&K flag.
“A thief can be powerful, but he has to return stolen goods. They demolished the constitution … Parliament had no power to take away a special status,” he told reporters.
“Now is the time for leaders to sacrifice themselves for the cause. Even if the leaders need to shed their blood for the cause … Mehbooba Mufti will be the first to offer it,” said the PDP chief, adding that the fight will not be it would limit to the restoration of Article 370 but include the resolution of the Kashmir issue.
“One day they will fall at our feet and call for a resolution. It is a political struggle and (we) will achieve (our) goal,” Ms Mufti said.
After National Conference Leader Farooq Abdullah, also a former Prime Minister, was released from an equally lengthy period of detention, key political leaders at J&K, including JKPC’s Sajjad Lone, have come together to fight for the article’s restoration. 370.
Called the “Declaration of the Popular Alliance for Gupkar,” the newly minted grouping also seeks a dialogue between all interested parties for a resolution of the Kashmir issue.
J&K political leaders, including Mufti, Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar, were detained for months as part of measures taken by the center to avoid a backlash against the announcement of its decision to withdraw the special status and fork the old state. in two union territories.
Ms. Mufti was released last week, while the Abdullahs were released in March.
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