Srinagar

Regarding the reports that people were fed up with local politicians and were reasons for keeping Kashmir underdeveloped, she dared the GOI to hold a referendum regarding abrogation of Article 370.

“They have caged people. They cannot speak on behalf of people and have become self-styled spokespersons. Who has given them right for that? In a democracy, if people are angry with us or NC, we will lose elections. Mehbboba Mufti lost elections this time, in the year 2014 she won by 70,000 votes,’’ she told KNS on Thursday.

“If you want to punish us on the whims of some people, then it is oligarchy or monarchy. This is not Dubai or Saudi Arabia where a coterie decides the fate of anyone. If that is the case then they should declare India is not a democracy, secular country. Anyways India is no more secular or democratic country. They want to take every decision on their own. They have got an absolute majority, does it mean they will burn the country and are answerable to no one,” KNS quoted Iltija as having said.

When asked about the PDP’s decision of forming an alliance with BJP in 2014, Iltija Mufti, daughter of former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said that decision could have proved wrong but their intention was very noble.

“When you look at hindsight, many decisions don’t prove right.  It is important to see the intention of the decision.  When your intention is clear and you make mistakes, you repent, “Mufti said.

She added that her Grandfather Mufti Muhammad Sayeed had an impeccable record. “You cannot base his whole political career on one episode. May be he did a mistake, I am not a politician but as a part of the family, I can tell you intention was never wrong. We were never after chair (power), if that would have been case, my grandfather and mother would have completed our terms. They always stuck to their ideas, morals, values and ethics. Mufti had a clear image, he was honest and man of integrity.”

Iltija also said that she has been verbally informed by the administration that she can visit her grandfather’s mausoleum on his fourth death anniversary.

“I approached the administration for allowing me to visit my grandfather’s grave. I was given green signal verbally,” she said.

Regarding the move of the administration to bar her from visiting Mufti Muhammad Sayeed’s Mausoleum a few days before, she said it questions the claims of the government that situation is normal here. “I was not even allowed to move out of my home. If they claim normalcy has returned then why they did not allow me to offer prayers at my grandfather’s grave. If it is otherwise, then they should have guts to tell the world that the situation is not normal here,” she said.

She blamed the Government for not allowing the return of normalcy here, “They have suffocated people here, actually they don’t want the situation to normalize here. SMS service is not working; internet facility is not available in hospitals here. They should kill all of us once for all. They have taken the decision, why should people suffer for that. The decision was imposed on us. There are rumours that Shopian and other districts will be part of Ramban. They want to win Delhi elections; I don’t know what are they up to for that here.”

She added: “If there is normalcy, then they should restore internet services. See the case of UP, how much crime happens there; first, they shut down internet services there. Is this solution? They say that there was no internet in Kashmir 30 years before, by that logic, there were no toilets 30 years before, then why they launched Swach Bharat Abhiyan, they should allow people do it in open.”

On being asked about the reports that local politicians only gave people gun, stone-pelting and shutdown, she said, “ when we formed a government with them in 2014 when Omar Abdullah was part of their government, was it different NC then, they speak rubbish. My mother has joined politics only 20 years before. Are they speaking of some other PDP?PDP itself was born in the year 1999. They should go and learn about the history of Kashmir. Those three years which my grandfather ruled Kashmir were good for Kashmir. First-time Muzafarbad-Uri road opened up, the situation was much better here. Does stone-pelting on Friday happen at the behest of Mehbooba Mufti? If tomorrow we feel demonetization was not a good decision, should we jail PM Modi then. Will you punish people like this for their decisions?

Reacting to the claims of the government that jailing local politicians helped them to keep the situation peaceful after the abrogation of Article 370, she said, “They caged everyone here, leave politicians, they did not spare civil society members also. Our kids are in outside jails after local jails had no capacity to accommodate them. It was like BabriMajid verdict had to be announced that Masjid would be built at Ayodhya and all BJP workers will be jailed. Had they remained silent?. (KNS)

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