J&K anti-encroachment drive: Mehbooba detained during march to Parliament

Carrying placards reading ‘Stop Bullying, Stop Bulldozing’, Mufti, along with scores of supporters, gathered at the busy Boat Club area with an aim to march towards Parliament in a bid to inform the opposition parties about the ongoing “Bulldozer Policy” being followed in the Union Territory

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday took to streets in the national capital to protest against the ongoing anti-encroachment drive being carried out by the administration in Jammu and Kashmir.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti being detained by a cop during her protest against the anti-encroachment drives, in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT)

Carrying placards reading ‘Stop Bullying, Stop Bulldozing’, Mufti, along with scores of supporters, gathered at the busy Boat Club area with an aim to march towards Parliament in a bid to inform the opposition parties about the ongoing “Bulldozer Policy” being followed in the Union Territory.

However, police detained the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, and took her and her party workers to Jantar Mantar. The protesters later dispersed from the site.

“We had come to inform the public, opposition parties and members of the ruling BJP about the misery faced by the public at large in Jammu and Kashmir. If we can’t go to Parliament, I wonder where we should go then. Does the government want us to get our grievances redressed at the United Nations?” Mufti asked.

During the protest, she also accused Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and the Jammu and Kashmir administration of turning the Union Territory into Afghanistan by indulging in large-scale destruction.

“There is no rule of law in Jammu and Kashmir. First we were deprived of our identity, then our jobs and now our homes and shops. Wonder what does this government want?” she asked.

“Jammu Kashmir ko Afghanistan ki tarah barbad kiya ja raha hai (Jammu and Kashmir is being ruined like Afghanistan),” she charged.

There is no rule of law that can be seen in Jammu and Kashmir and “we came all the way to Delhi to speak our hearts out. But it seems that the voice of the general public is muzzled here as well,” Mufti alleged.

The PDP and other political parties have denounced the anti-encroachment drive and asked the administration to stop it, claiming that it is affecting the poor.

Protest held against eviction drive near Srinagar’s Lal Chowk

The J&K All Alliance Democratic Party, meanwhile, staged a demonstration in Srinagar on Wednesday against an eviction drive launched by the Jammu and Kashmir administration to retrieve state land from encroachers.

Led by Rakib Ahmad, the protesters assembled near the Pratap Park on Residency Road, raising slogans against the Union Territory administration.

Terming the eviction drive “anti-people” and “anti-poor”, the protesters demanded that it be stopped immediately.

They tried to march towards the Lal Chowk, but were stopped by the police.