SRINAGAR: Peoples Democratic Party President and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti Wednesday alleged that she wasn’t allowed to visit the family of Kulgam youth who committed suicide because his father, a teacher, wasn’t paid his salary for over two years for past “militancy” connections.
In a video statement, Mehbooba said the administration cited the ongoing Covid19 protocol and security issues for not allowing her to travel to Noorabad, Kulgam.
“When the Lieutenant Governor can himself travel to all parts, why am I being not allowed. Security arrangements are made for him,” she said, adding that the present administration doesn’t visit the families of common people.
“They stop me also from reaching out to such people. What kind of justice is this?”
Quoting the current suicide issue, Mehbooba said that it wasn’t the first case of a former militant being treated like this by the government when he had chosen the path of peace.
“His son committed suicide because his father was denied salary for two and half years because he was once a militant,” she said.
Mehbooba said there are many people in Kashmir who gave up militancy and worked hard to build a “respectable” life for themselves.
“Unfortunately today the government is after all such people. Salaries of many such people have been withheld while many are under surveillance,” she said.
She said that she fails to understand that on one hand, the government wants the Kashmiri youth to shun militancy while on the other it harasses those who have parted ways from it.
“Covid and security are just excuses. The government doesn’t want anyone to see what injustices are being perpetrated on people here.”
It is pertinent to mention here that the government today released the salary of the teacher.
Official sources said the Director School Education Kashmir Tassaduq Hussain Mir today released Rs 33 crores to chief education officers of Kashmir for payment of withheld salary of 630 teachers, including the father of a boy from Kulgam who committed suicide on May 28.
“The salary of these teachers was pending due to deficiency of documents and verification,” the official said.
In the video shot by the boy before committing suicide, he was heard as saying that he was forced to take this extreme step due to financial crises of his family following non-payment of the salary of his father for last over two-and-a-half years.
