E-Paper
Shows that Delhi’s 2019 decision unacceptable to J&K: Mehbooba Mufti on good turnout
Mehbooba Mufti, who was addressing public gatherings in south Kashmir, urged the people to vote in good numbers in the remaining phases as well
Former chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday said good voter turnout in Srinagar sent a message to Delhi that the decision taken in 2019 was unacceptable to the people, who were feeling “suffocated”.
Mufti, who was addressing public gatherings in south Kashmir, urged the people to vote in good numbers in the remaining phases as well.
“Polling was good because people have been feeling suffocated for the past five years. People want to convey a message to Delhi that the decision of 2019 and the subsequent orders after that related to our land, state subject, jobs; they are not acceptable to people of Kashmir, Rajouri-Poonch and Jammu,” she said.
The Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency on Monday registered its highest voter turnout for a national election in nearly three decades, as people queued up to exercise their right to franchise in the first major electoral contest in the Valley since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
In the backdrop of Srinagar voting, Mufti, who is PDP’s candidate from south Kashmir, hoped that more people will come out to vote for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat.
“The situation in Srinagar or Pulwama is the same in Anantnag and Kulgam. The way people are suffocated there [in Srinagar] and want their voice to reach the Parliament by voting and convey to the people of the country that they have faced tyranny. For the same voice, I hope the people of Anantnag, Kulgam and Rajouri-Poonch will vote in good numbers,” she said.
The leader takes on National Conference’s Mian Altaf in a high-profile contest in Anantnag-Rajouri, which goes to polls on May 25.
Mufti, meanwhile, alleged that Srinagar’s voting was deliberately carried out at a slow pace, forcing people to wait in queues for long periods. “I want to tell the election commission of India that wherever they saw a good congregation of people which was indicative of voting for PDP, the polling was made slower in those places deliberately. I want the people in Rajouri, Poonch, Anantnag, Kulgam and Wachi to understand that even if it takes 10 hours to wait in the queue, they should not return without voting,” he said.
The election authorities in Srinagar have stated that EVMs take the same time across the country and polling officials were working diligently.
