Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday attacked the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre, and said that though it could not evict China from Indian territory, it wanted to snatch away the land of Kashmiris and hand it over to the corporates.
Mehbooba was addressing a hurriedly arranged press conference after she was stopped by the Jammu and Kashmir police to meet her party activists who were detained by the police Thursday morning in Srinagar during a protest against the new land laws imposed in the union territory.
Mufti said that the only intention of the NDA government was to "loot" Kashmir.
"They don't allow anyone to talk here. Their intentions are communal. Even the people of Ladakh are now repenting," she said.
"BJP could not even ensure food for the poor. When they ask for jobs and food, they are repeatedly told that Article 370 has been repealed and they can buy land in Jammu and Kashmir. They have made JK a very big jail," she added.
Escalating her attack on the NDA, the PDP chief said the government could not even name China, whose actions led to the martyrdom of Indian troops in Galwan.
"We are not Twitter politicians that you can stop us. Every day they are new diktats issued from New Delhi," she said.
Read: Protest against land laws: PDP's march foiled, office sealed and several leaders detained
"If you are so powerful, evict China from Indian land. No, but they can't even take China's name. They can only show their power in Jammu and Kashmir," she added.
Mufti said she was glad that even Ladakhis and Dogris from the Jammu region were now realising the ill intentions of the government.
"We will not let your plans of looting Jammu and Kashmir succeed. There is total lawlessness here. I am glad to see people realising that BJP does not care for them. They only want to snatch our land and hand it over to corporates and industrialists," she added.
She said that her party will resist the decisions and appealed people of Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir to get united against the BJP government.
"If we do not resist their decisions unitedly, they will plunder all our resources and land," she said in the press conference at her Gupkar residence.
Earlier, the police sealed the PDP officer in Srinagar for the day and detained its leaders and activists who were protesting against the new land laws implemented by the central government.
Mehbooba Mufti took to Twitter and wrote that the workers were arrested for ‘organizing a peaceful protest’. She asked, “A similar protest was allowed in Jammu so why was it thwarted here? Is this your definition of ‘normalcy’ that’s being showcased in the world?
Read: PDP leader urges residents of J&K to unite against amendments in land laws
“PDP’s Waheed Ur Rehman, Khurshid Alam, Rouf Bhat, Mohsin Qayoom and Mohit Bhan were arrested by Jammu and Kashmir police for protesting against the settler-colonial land laws thrust upon (the) people of Jammu and Kashmir. We will continue to raise our voice collectively and won’t tolerate attempts to change demographics,” she tweeted.
“Many others like Tahir Sayeed, Yasin Bhat, and Hameed Kohsheen were also arrested. A government desperate to curb any kind of dissent and ready to crush its own people but all the machismo disappears when it comes to fighting China at the LAC (Line of Actual Control),” she said in another tweet.
The central government recently paved way for any Indian to buy land in Jammu and Kashmir by notifying the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Third Order, 2020.
The Centre repealed or made changes in 26 state laws. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has repealed 12 state laws as a whole, including the Jammu and Kashmir Alienation of Land Act, Jammu and Kashmir Big Landed Estates Abolition Act, Jammu and Kashmir Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1956, Jammu and Kashmir Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1962, Jammu and Kashmir Right of Prior Purchase Act, and Jammu and Kashmir Utilisation of Lands Act.
