Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti has said that the so-called anti-encroachment drive launched in Indian Administered Kashmir is a new weapon for the BJP’s Hindutva government to persecute the Kashmiri people and uproot them from their homes.
Mehbooba Mufti talking to reporters in Srinagar said, “This is a new weapon being used by the BJP government, like they have the UAPA, PSA, NIA, ED and other agencies, to persecute the people of Jammu and Kashmir and uproot them from their homes”.
Mufti said, some of the people who have been targeted through the anti-encroachment drive possessed their land since the time of Hindu Maharaja Hari Singh, like the Hotel Nedous in Srinagar. “First they created a wedge between Hindus & Muslims, then between Gujjars & Bakerwals and Shias & Sunnis.
Now, they are creating a wedge between the rich and the poor by saying they are going against the rich, while the truth is that the houses of poor people are being demolished”. Calling upon the people of Indian Administered Kashmir to unite in order to fight against this onslaught, she said, “Till the people of Indian Administered Kashmir do not unite, we will not be able to fight this onslaught…. Do not be a spectator, come forward and raise the issues”.
PDP Chief said, Governor House and the Badami Bagh Cantonment area in Srinagar were built on state land and should be vacated first. The former Chief Minister Mufti said, “Indian Administered Kashmir, once considered as the economic hub of the erstwhile state, is the worst victim of BJP’s political gimmick.
People in Indian Administered Kashmir always suspected the intentions of BJP but Indian Administered Kashmir gave a huge mandate to the party (in 2014 assembly polls) on the assurances of political and economic empowerment.”
She accused BJP of indulging in “divisive and deceitful” politics, Mufti said the saffron party is surrendering interests of people to benefit big corporate houses of the country. She said, “From economy to cultural identity, BJP has looted Indian Administered Kashmir of everything which it was once proud of.
Today big corporate houses from across the country have deep penetration into Jammu, unemployment rate is alarming, developmental growth is at standstill while even the militancy has spilled over to the region.” The agenda of Modi or RSS government is not only to change the regional structure but also to disempower the Kashmiri population.
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