Mehbooba says will not stop until Article 370 restored; dismisses Azad's remark as personal opinion

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti says she would not stop until Article 370 is restored, while taking pot-shots on the saffron party for preaching patriotism now. She noted that RSS was against confrontation of Britishers while Congress fought for freedom.

Jammu:A day after former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad claimed revocation of Article 370 as point of no return, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti Mehbooba Mufti said they will continue to fight to get the same restored and to bring an end to excesses committed by BJP.

"It's his (Ghulam Nabi Azad) personal opinion...Congress had raised its voice against the British and stopped them. Similarly, there are voices in J&K who believe 370 will be reinstated and this will be resolved," and PDP chief said.

Speaking to reporters, after meeting the party leaders in the Jammu party office, Mehbooba took a veiled dig at the saffron party questioning their locus standi on preaching patriotism. "While Congress was fighting for Azadi, many organisations - who today give us lectures on 'Desh bhakti' - were against any confrontation with Britishers," she said.

"In their view, Britishers were too powerful to be challenged. But that did not stop Jawahar Lal Nehru, and Gandhi Ji to fight for freedom. Same way for Jammu and Kashmir, it is an issue. By abrogating Article 37O they have further aggravated the situation," she reasoned.

“Some people have been saying that I don’t talk about Article 370. I want to tell them that Azad can not befool people for electoral gains. We will continue to fight against excesses by BJP and will bring an end to that and ensure the restoration of Art 370," Mufti said.

"Azad knows what can and cannot be done. I or the Congress party or three regional parties cannot give you back Article 370, neither can (TMC chief) Mamata Banerjee, or DMK or (NCP chief) Sharad Pawar” Azad had said in his maiden rally in Kashmir Valley after he quit Congress last month.