Srinagar: Accepting the formal invitation to join the Bharat Jodo Yatra, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday said it is her "duty to stand with someone who has the courage to challenge fascist forces".
"One person is standing up and raising his voice against the sectarian forces that are trying to divide the country, destroy secularism and the democratic system," she added.
Mufti said she will join the Bharat Jodo Yatra when it reaches the Union Territory next month for a "better India". She also claimed that the government could make excuses like Covid or militancy to block Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra in the region. The Congress-led Bharat Jodo Yatra will reach Jammu and Kashmir on January 20.
She further alleged that the government of completely failed to control militancy in Jammu and Kashmir and labelled it as the government's "biggest failure". "The government claims that it has eradicated militancy from Jammu and Kashmir but today's encounter in Jammu is the biggest failure," Mehbooba told reporters in Srinagar.
"People's fundamental rights like the right to self-expression (have been suspended). If anyone speaks, he is arrested, whether he is a journalist or a common man," She said, adding that the "politicians are put under pressure and find it difficult to play their role."
She further said that "J&K fully believes in secularism and democracy because when Hindus and Muslims were being killed in India and Pakistan in 1947, Kashmir was the only place where Pandits, Sikhs, and Dogars were protected by Kashmiris."
"At the same time, Gandhiji said that he could see a ray of hope in Kashmir. When there are attempts to destroy secularism in the country, the people of Jammu and Kashmir suffer the most. We acceded to India when we were the only Muslim-majority state because it was a secular and democratic country for which Gandhiji sacrificed his life."
She said, "Therefore, it is our duty that if someone has come out to save the country's democracy and secularism, then it is necessary to stand with him."
"Joining the Yatra is to save democracy and secularism in the country. Our fight is separate and we will continue to fight (for restoration of Article 370)," she added. Welcoming Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha's statement that the killing of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley should not be communalised, Mehbooba said he should teach this lesson to the BJP.
"It is better than never because it is the BJP government that communalises the unfortunate killings of Kashmiri Pandits. They made a film (Kashmir Files) on it and then showed it everywhere. They are trying to create hatred between communities. It is good that he (Sinha) said this, but, I think, he should teach this lesson to the BJP."
She further alleged that Jammu and Kashmir have been turned into an open prison where no one is allowed to say or express anything. "Jails are full of people from Jammu and Kashmir. Our youth are beaten in colleges. BJP has ruined the atmosphere of the country," she said.
