PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti declared on Wednesday that no “secular government” can be formed without the backing of her party and that there would never be a BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir. She said she would be willing to help any “secular government” come into power in Jammu and Kashmir as long as it kept the BJP out of power.
“Jammu and Kashmir will never have a BJP government. There will be a secular government in J-K. Whatever government is formed in Jammu and Kashmir, PDP will be an important factor,” stated Mehbooba Mufti.
Mebooba Mufti added, “Without PDP’s support, no secular government can be formed in Jammu and Kashmir.”
In response to a question about whether she would work with the National Conference to form a government, she stated, “Our goal is to prevent the BJP from coming to power.” To prevent the BJP from taking over, the PDP will back the establishment of any secular government in Jammu and Kashmir.”
“They have their own Lieutenant Governor and Prime Minister,” she said in response to a question concerning the BJP’s assertion that it had won over 50 seats and chosen a chief minister “from the Jammu region.” After all these years, what has the state done for Jammu?
“If they project a Jammu CM as an alternative, they should have appointed a Governor from Jammu. The BJP won’t even cross the 15-seat mark.”
Mehbooba Mufti also reacted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s criticism of “three families,” citing her father’s role as “upholder of the Indian flag” during Kashmir’s conflict.
When she was in Bisnah, R S Pura, and Jammu, campaigning for her party’s candidates, she criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for calling the Mufti family anti-national and attributing their ascent to terrorism.
“They are here to give us criticism. They are of no use to the populace. Whom are they leading the opposition for? The same man who has flown India’s flag high in Kashmir since the 1960s, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s party.”
“When the National Conference campaigned for independence and talked about joining Pakistan, it was Mufti Sahab who upheld and raised the Indian flag in Kashmir. And now, they call his party anti-national,” the PDP leader stated.
She referred to the three years of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s reign in Jammu and Kashmir as a “golden period.”
Following the 2014 assembly elections, the BJP and PDP teamed together to establish an alliance government in March 2015, which was headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, a supporter of the PDP. Although it was the BJP’s first time in power in J&K, tensions within the alliance led to the party’s withdrawal in June 2018.
She denounced as “hollow and misleading” the BJP’s pledge to name a chief minister from Jammu, criticizing the party’s actions in the state.
“Why isn’t there a single advisor from Jammu? During our tenure, the DGP and Chief Secretary were from Jammu, but today, all these positions are held by outsiders,” Mehbooba Mufti questioned.