Mehbooba Mufti Alleges BJP’s Attempt to Muzzle Kashmiri Voices in Parliament
PTK News Desk
Mehbooba Mufti, the President of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), lashed out at the BJP government, asserting that it seeks to stifle the representation of Kashmiri voices in Parliament. Mufti’s claims, made during a press conference in Anantnag, South Kashmir, spotlighted the alleged intentions of the Ministry of Home Affairs, led by Amit Shah, to manipulate voter slips and suppress the authentic voice of Kashmir in the corridors of power.
Mufti contended that the BJP’s strategy aims to undermine the PDP’s influence, limiting the people of Jammu and Kashmir to mere voting rights as their sole expression of desires. Drawing a contrast with the late Vajpayee’s efforts to restore faith in the electoral process, Mufti underscored the current government’s alleged interference, coupled with the empowerment of proxy parties, particularly in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls in the region.
Highlighting the overarching objective of the Centre to quash genuine dissent from Kashmir, Mufti emphasized the purported agenda to bolster proxy parties established post-2019, at the expense of fracturing the PDP. Central to this strategy, as alleged by Mufti, is the tampering of voter slips, indicative of the government’s aversion to the unfiltered representation of Kashmiri aspirations in Parliament.
Mufti’s critique extended to the revocation of constitutional provisions in 2019, which she deemed as an unlawful nullification of promises made in 1947. She lamented the subsequent imposition of restrictions, including the curtailment of her travel privileges and the seizure of her official residence, depicting a landscape of stifled dissent and curtailed freedoms in Jammu and Kashmir.
The allegations levied by Mehbooba Mufti against the BJP government underscore the contentious dynamics surrounding political representation and autonomy in the region, adding fuel to the ongoing discourse on Kashmir’s future within the Indian polity.
