BJP wants to finish rights of Muslims, Dalits: Mehbooba Mufti on UP government’s Kanwar Yatra order
Mehbooba Mufti, during a party function in Srinagar, said the country’s Constitution gives equal rights to all
The Uttar Pradesh government’s order making it mandatory for eateries on the Kanwar Yatra routes to display the name of owners has prompted a sharp reaction from Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti, who on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government — accusing it of wanting to finish the rights of Muslims, Dalits and other backward groups.
Mufti, during a party function in Srinagar, said the country’s Constitution gives equal rights to all, adding, “There is no discrimination on the basis of name or religion. Our Constitution is just to all. The BJP government is tearing to shreds the same Constitution.”
The former chief minister said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was right in calling the BJP’s alleged intention “finish the constitution” were they to cross 400 seats in the recently held Lok Sabha elections.
“But they did not learn their lesson. From 300 seats, they came down to 240, but still they are not learning and are going against the constitution. They are doing such practice which is creating discord in the country,” she said, adding that the people who voted for them in the election may have also gotten the hint that they wanted to “finish” the Constitution.
“First they want to finish the rights of Muslims, then there will be the turn of Dalits and other backward castes. They want to create a separate system here that is why they did what they did in UP yesterday,” the leader said.
Mufti went on to urge the Prime Minister to take the issue seriously, saying, “This is against the country’s constitution and I am happy everybody is raising their voice against that. Only Modi ji is silent, he should also talk about it whether he supports it or is against it.”
Khurshid Alam
back in PDP fold
Senior leader and former legislator Khurshid Alam, who left People’s Conference (PC) on July 12 after three years, returned to the PDP fold on Saturday,
Alam, 70, had left the PC after the party’s dismal results in the Lok Sabha elections.
“I left no stone unturned in bringing people to PC but failed. On the other hand, my workers felt that PDP understands the suffering of common people. PDP and its president represent the aspirations of people. Despite the onslaught, the party or its leadership talks about people’s sufferings and she (PDP president) is suffering because of that. So I thought this is the right place to go back to,” Alam said.
Mufti welcomed the leader, saying, “I hope his return will again strengthen the PDP and the workers in Srinagar will work for the party.”
Alam, who served as member of legislative council in the assembly under the PDP-BJP government, had joined PC in March 2021 after leaving People’s Democratic Party (PDP) following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
Alam, like all other mainstream political leaders from Kashmir, was jailed for over seven months following the constitutional changes in J&K on August 5, 2019.
In 2014, Alam, a former union leader, had lost to NC’s Ali Mohammad Sagar in Khanyar assembly constituency of Srinagar. He was later nominated by PDP for MLC post in J&K Assembly in 2015.