Srinagar, May 6: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has fiercely criticized the National Conference (NC) for invoking religious scripture to obscure its political failures. In a recent press conference, she asserted that NC’s tactics are merely attempts to redirect public discontent away from its governorship failures over the last two years.
Mufti urged the ruling party, stating, “For God’s sake, do not drag the Quran into politics.” Her comments stem from a situation where NC officials, including MLA Zadibal Tanvir Sadiq, demanded that Mufti and her lawmakers affirm, via a swearing by the Quran, that they had not cast votes for the BJP during the Jammu and Kashmir Rajya Sabha elections held last October.
An RTI (Right to Information) reply has unveiled that the PDP did not appoint a chief agent for the aforementioned polls, leading to charges by NC that three PDP MLAs defected to the BJP during elections. Acknowledging the political intricacies involved, Mehbooba accused NC of sidestepping serious governance issues.
She stated, “People are disheartened with them,” referring to NC, while expanding her critique on the current government’s inability to combat pressing issues affecting the populace.
Mufti elaborated on the governance crisis under the NC regime, alleging that the government engages in demolition of houses under the guise of combatting drug problems. She highlighted, “Earlier the same thing was done under the pretext of fighting terrorism.”
In addition to the demolitions, Mufti asserted that employees face arbitrary dismissals and open merit students endure tormenting experiences due to government negligence. This evokes a grim picture of the existing administration, which she characterizes as a “mute spectator” to the hardships faced by the citizens.
Mufti concluded her remarks by inviting the NC to engage her party through political means rather than drawing religious scriptures into the political arena. Amid increasing political tension in the region, her statement resonates with the broader dissatisfaction among the public regarding the governance quality.
This clash highlights the growing divide between the PDP and NC, two parties vying for influence in the complex political landscape of Jammu and Kashmir.
