Former Chief Minister and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday said that if she had supported the BJP’s agenda, she would have been the Chief Minister today, but she chose to stick to himself.
Speaking to Kashmir News Service (KNS), he said that after the cancellation of Article 370, the BJP did not target any other party in which it targeted the PDP. “They knew about our strength and resistance we shown during the coalition government. Did I support the BJP’s agenda, I would have been the Chief Minister today.”
He said that in a center area, even as Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah can take big decisions and stand with people, but now the post has been reduced to fight on transfer. “You have to argue with the Lieutenant Governor on petty matters like who posts.”
“I am confident that there is still a lot of power left in the government. You can at least speak. But when no one raises his voice, it is necessary for me to speak,” he said.
He said that he initially formed the PAGD (People’s Alliance for the Gupta Declaration) as the situation in the state demanded unity. “After 2019, I tried again for unity when the Waqf Bill was introduced. We should have a collective stance so that the people of the country, especially minority and Muslims, could see that the leadership of Jammu and Kashmir stood with them and was ready to support them.”
“But unfortunately, the role of the National Conference during the Waqf Bill issue was very disappointing,” he said. “Not only did he stop a resolution in the assembly, but both Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah personally welcomed the minister who brought the bill to the Tulip Garden.”
“If we were united, on the same page, seeing leaders like Farooq Abdullah and Mehboba Mufti, the crores of Muslims in India could have got strength. If power makes you so weak and cowardly, I don’t think it is worth it,” he said. (KNS)