Getting rid of BJP will be bigger than freedom from British rule: PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti
In the run-up to the assembly elections in five states, former chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday asked people to “get rid of BJP”
In the run-up to the assembly elections in five states, former chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday asked people to “get rid of BJP” and said that “doing so would be bigger than freedom of India from the British rule”.
Addressing party’s tribal youth convention here, Mehbooba claimed that Jammu and Kashmir was in dire straits since August 5, 2019, and urged the youth to stand up against BJP’s “divisive politics”.
“They have ruined the country…Today one feels insecure and does not know whether he/she will be alive tomorrow or not. The arrests and raids by the ED and other government agencies against the opposition leaders have become a daily affair,” she said.
The PDP president urged the youth to read history, take inspiration from it and write their own destiny with pen and paper.
“History gives an opportunity to play a role… 70 years ago people of India availed this opportunity and freed India from the British rule. Today, we have another opportunity to get rid of the BJP. If we succeed, this development will be much bigger than India’s freedom from British rule,” she said.
Mehbooba said Jammu and Kashmir acceded to Mahatma Gandhi’s India and not Nathuram Godse’s India.
“We will not allow this country to become Nathuram Godse’s nation. They pray to Godse but Gandhi was the biggest Hindu, a vegetarian and a secular leader who was not having any hatred against anyone, even those who were non-vegetarians,” she added.
She urged the youth to stand up to the onslaught post-revocation of Article 370 and write their own destiny.
“Be proactive and face them…Agar dar gaye to smajho mar gaye…Darna nahi hai. And, we have to face them with pen and paper…not with stones and guns because … they want us to indulge in violence and then they get the opportunity to slap the UAPA, PSA and ED, etc,” she added.
The former chief minister cautioned the BJP of the serious ramifications of its “communal” politics.
“You are not the godfather of Hindus and this country. We have to stand up and face the challenges together, irrespective of our religion, caste and creed and counter them by spreading love and friendship,” she said.
She also accused the BJP of harbouring mala fide intentions of finishing the existence of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Today, the youth have a responsibility because coming generations will ask you whether you stood up to BJP’s onslaught on our identity and culture or meekly surrendered,” she said.
Later, she met women and children of Gujjar families at Roop Nagar, who were recently evicted by the JDA from their houses during an early morning anti-encroachment drive.
The JDA had claimed the houses were illegally constructed on government land.
The PDP president asked them to stand their ground and do not bow down to pressure tactics.
“I urge LG Manoj Sinha to intervene. They (BJP) could do nothing to China that usurped our land in Ladakh but they uprooted you. You people didn’t come from China or Pakistan,” she said.
She assured them of every possible help but advised them to stand their ground, the way farmers did against farm laws.
