KL Report
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Friday demanded a commission to probe all politicians for their assets post 1975, in Jammu & Kashmir and she offered her own self as the first.
Reacting sharply to repeated claims of the chief minister Omar Abdullah that corruption could not be tackled because of ‘coalition compulsion’ Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday said that National Conference was the fountainhead of corruption in Jammu and Kashmir irrespective of whether it was in coalition or enjoyed 2 thirds majority in the assembly.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti in a statement said that NC was responsible for according social respectability to corruption after their two decade long hunger in wilderness between 1953 and 1975.
“Until the tallest leader of the NC began his second innings in power in 1975 with allocation of prime state lands to his family, corruption was still viewed with contempt in the state” Mehbooba said.
“Given the unholy haste with which the post accord cabinet in its first meeting allotted Gupkar land to Abdullah family it seems the 1975 accord was signed only to rehabilitate them in the nature of the latter day Indira Awas Yojana (IAY),” she added.
“One wonders how a family in which no member ever did a proper job or business except politics is now among the richest in the state if one goes only by their declared assets” Mehbooba lambasted.
Mehbooba said that Omar Abdullah was using coalition as an alibi to cover up his failure in tackling corruption as he lacked moral credibility following allegations against him in the Yousuf Haji death case. She said that otherwise he has been a beneficiary of congress indulgence which stood by him more vocally than even his own party when he faced the serious charges.
“Similarly Dr Farooq Abdullah continues to be a party of the UPA cabinet when he should have been in the company of A Raja and Suresh Kalmadi for his role in the swindling of money meant for promoting cricket in the state”. She said
“Coalition under Omar Abdullah is functioning as a mutual benefit arrangement and the chief minister who should have led by example by offering himself for probe is now trying to philosophize the loot promoted by him. he must understand that there are no takers for such misleading claims now,” Mehbooba said.
Mehbooba added “Some of the ruling politicians could not afford an auto rickshaw before becoming ministers but now owned sprawling estates, thriving businesses, luxuries and costliest cars. Some persons close to the chief minister wielding extra constitutional authority have experienced windfall gains over the past four years adding phenomenally to their fortunes in every conceivable way and it is unimaginable that Omar Abdullah would be unaware of this,”.
Mehbooba accused that the present government has made transparency institutions like the State Information Commission (SIC) or anti corruption bodies like State Accountability Commission (SAC) and State Vigilance Commission (SVC) dysfunctional to provide space for unchecked plunder of state resources by the ruling politicians.
“Omar Abdullah by going against the SAC to high court challenging its jurisdiction on technical reasons had shown way to his colleagues in the cabinet many of whom have also secured stay orders on same grounds,” Mahbooba said.
Mehbooba said it seems Omar is talking to people of another planet by complaining of corruption resulting from coalition compulsions as everybody remembers how the Farooq Abdullah government before his had converted government jobs into a commodity even though he enjoyed a majority in the legislature.
“ The same practice has been revived now and about 1 lakh jobs are vacant with apprehensions that the ruling party agents may be collecting money from the gullible unemployed youth,” She said.
The government, Mehbooba said, has promoted black marketing of even cooking gas causing an unprecedented crisis. “At least the unsubsidized cylinders should have been available without hassles pointing out that J&K was the only state where scarcity in spite of price rise was experienced,” Mehbooba said.
