SRINAGAR: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of hypocrisy, alleging that while it claims to uplift backward Muslims, it is simultaneously demolishing mosques and taking control of Waqf properties.
Speaking at a public gathering in Srinagar, Mehbooba criticised the Jammu and Kashmir administration for abandoning Muslims on the issue of the Waqf Bill. “The government has remained silent while Muslims across the country are worried about the future of Waqf land. The PDP and the people of Jammu and Kashmir extend full solidarity with them,” she said.
Mehbooba particularly condemned mosque demolitions in Uttar Pradesh and said, “You talk about the welfare of backward Muslims, yet your government is razing mosques and laying hands on Waqf land.”
She accused the BJP of trying to rewrite India’s inclusive identity. “India belongs to all faiths. It is the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, not an empire to be ruled. Do not fracture its unity,” she said, adding, “The heirs of the Mughals are among you, not us.”
On recent developments in West Bengal, she said the BJP stood with those seeking to harm Muslims, referring to incidents in Murshidabad.
Mehbooba also questioned the silence of regional parties and targeted the National Conference (NC) over what she termed a longstanding “covert understanding” with the BJP. She referred to former RAW chief AS Dulat’s statements and claimed his closeness to the Abdullah family was “no secret.”
“The book only confirms what many of us have known — that NC leaders have maintained contact with the BJP behind closed doors since 2014,” she said. Mehbooba also recalled that PDP faced public backlash when it allied with the BJP, whereas NC “quietly went ahead.”
She accused Omar Abdullah of hypocrisy, citing his appearance in Srinagar’s Tulip Garden alongside the Union Minority Affairs Minister, who she said introduced the controversial Waqf Bill, even as Waqf properties in Jammu and Kashmir were being targeted.
On her party’s role in the legislature, Mehbooba noted that the PDP had introduced four key bills, including one on electricity and another concerning daily wagers, and brought in a resolution against the Waqf Bill.
Appealing directly to the BJP, Mehbooba said, “You are now the ones riding high — arresting youth under UAPA and PSA, seizing passports, and terminating employees. Talk to the people of Kashmir. It is the crown of India—let it remain that way.”
She also voiced hope that the Supreme Court would rule in favour of Muslims in the ongoing Waqf Act case. Drawing a parallel with the execution of Afzal Guru, she said, “There was no solid evidence, yet he was hanged citing the collective conscience of the nation. We hope that same conscience now protects Muslim rights.”
