Rajouri (Jammu and Kashmir): Taking up the cudgels against the NDA government, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is feeling the heat as the Congress has a better manifesto. Hence, the saffron party is using religion as a tool to seek votes, she pointed out.
Speaking to ETV Bharat during her election campaign about BJP's remark on 'Mangalasutra' and religion-based reservation, she said, "Leaders used to maintain restraint while delivering speeches based on religion, but now, they are stooping any level to lure voters. If the BJP has read the constitution, it is there that reservation cannot be given to anyone based on religion."
"If Congress has intended to give the reservation, then it could have granted it 50 years ago. If they had intended to snatch the 'mangalsutra', the Congress was in power for 50 years. I assume that the BJP is afraid of Congress as it promised to provide jobs, employment to women, MSP for farmers and many others," she said.
"Rahul Gandhi never lies as BJP promised Rs 15 lakhs to every account per year," she reminded. When asked about the INDIA Bloc, she said, "We are a part of the alliance not because of any greed, but to lend support to Rahul Gandhi, who is fighting to save the nation. There was only one Godse, who killed Mahatma Gandhi, but today the BJP has given birth to many more Godses."Jammu and Kashmir is a ‘Mini Hindustan’ where people from every religion live but now unfortunately after 2019 we are feeling betrayed and we don't accept the decisions taken by the BJP government against us for degrading the state.
Referring to the abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba reiterated the significance of conveying to those in power the erroneous actions taken on August 5, 2019, and the imperative of reclaiming what has been unjustly seized from the region. She stressed that Parliament serves as the platform to articulate these grievances and expose the systematic plundering of Jammu and Kashmir's resources and identity since 2019.
“We are not fighting not only with BJP, but also the whole machinery they are using with proxy candidates. and I think this is a fight between the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party,” she said.
Mehbooba Mufti further stated that the People's Democratic Party (PDP) is the only party in Jammu and Kashmir's political landscape capable of channelling people's voices in and out of Parliament. She emphasised that the ongoing elections in Jammu and Kashmir are not merely about securing positions or chairs, but about sending a resounding voice to Parliament that can effectively represent the aspirations of the region's people.
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