Known for flinging surprises, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President and leader of the Opposition Mehbooba Mufti took everyone by a bigger surprise this week by admitting that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was brought to Kashmir by her father’s Mufti Muhammad Sayeed during his tenure as the Indian Home Minister.
In the blame game on draconian laws, National Conference and PDP have often locked horns over who extended the AFSPA to Kashmir. PDP has blamed National Conference while the latter has retaliated by pointing out that it was brought in Mufti’s tenure as the Home Minister.
Mehbooba, in a way, ended the debate by her admission though opening the front for other debates. In the same breath she, however, extended her attack on the National Conference.
“It is true that AFSPA was brought by Mufti Sahib to Kashmir but when your government came to power in 1996 why didn’t you revoke it. You even extended it to Jammu,” Mehbooba told the Legislative Assembly while opening the debate on chief minister’s grants.
The PDP has raised demands for revocation of AFSPA in the state and threatens to launch a campaign. Mehbooba’s comments came in that wake, as the ruling NC would fire back the salvo by getting to roots of the act.
After her admission, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah hit back the next day by saying that the draconian act will be repealed during his tenure.
“We will close the chapter which was brought to state by Mufti Sahab.” Omar said adding “It would have been better has she (Mehbooba) spoken the same when PDP was in power or when she was a Member of Parliament.”
Omar also accused PDP of playing a Demand Supply politics.
Led by its vocal president PDP has been making opposition assault on the government, one after another, in the current session and even before that. The one about the infamous sex scandal almost cost the chief minister his chair.
