Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party president and former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday accused the Modi government of wanting to plunder the land and resources of Jammu and Kashmir. She said that new land laws, domicile rules, and service conditions of government employees were all means to achieve this aim.
Talking to reporters at her Gupkar residence after being disallowed to meet several PDP workers detained for taking out a rally on Thursday, Mufti said that the party workers tried to stage a peaceful demonstration against the central government’s new land laws, but the workers were detained by police and the party office in Srinagar was sealed.
“A protest was organised by our party against the newly notified land laws, but the peaceful protest was not allowed and several of our party leaders were detained. We had organised a similar protest in Jammu only a day before, but nothing such happened there,” she said.
She added that several leaders of the party were detained the previous night itself to prevent them from taking part in the demonstration.
MuftI said that she tried to meet the party leaders lodged at police stations to enquire about their well-being but she wasn’t allowed to move out of the gate of her house, which was manned by police.
“The ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir has completely changed. No one is allowed to talk, or raise their voice. Neither journalists, nor civil society members and politicians,” she said.
She said that Jammu and Kashmir has been turned into a jail. “We are not going to remain silent against the moves of the centre. We won’t let them succeed in their plans of looting Jammu and Kashmir,” she said.
“I’m glad that along with Kashmir, people of Jammu and Ladakh have understood the importance of fighting unitedly under the banner of Peoples Alliance of Gupkar Declaration. The communal intentions of BJP government are clear before the eyes of all people now,” she said.
“I’m not a twitter politician, who will only keep tweeting without coming out on the streets. I’ll come out openly against the centre,” she said. “I am not going to sit idle and will fight the centre’s open loot in J&K. They are stealing our resources. Everyday there is a new announcement from the centre. The latest is the repealing of land laws to allow outsiders to buy land in J&K. This is just an election stunt as polls are round the corner in Bihar and then elections will be held in West Bengal, too.”
“If you have power, then you should throw China out of your territory. They fear to do anything against China, even taking their name. Instead, they use all their power in Jammu and Kashmir only,” she added.

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KALEEM GEELANI