Srinagar, Apr 29: President of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday said that Government was punishing Srinagar for electing eight MLAs of the ruling National Conference.        
 “Srinagar is getting punished as if for electing eight MLAs from the city and an MP, though it is by now acknowledged universally as to how tactical rigging was resorted to for NC’s benefit on account of a low turnout in previous elections” Mehbooba said while  addressing a meeting of party sympathizers and workers at Saraibala here.
 She said the NC was hoping to repeat the same tricks in future and was therefore least bothered about the fate of the city but advised people to see through this game that has allowed the party to rule them without a mandate.
 Mehbooba said the NC was raising dead issues like the 1975 accord only to divert attention from its disastrous performance. She said the accord between Sheikh Sahib and Indira Gandhi was only a power sharing arrangement after the late Sheikh Sahib “sold out the sacrifices” of his colleagues and followers. “That arrangement is carrying on between their descendants while the interests of the state, one after the other, in the shape of water and power resources or institutions like the J&K Bank are being sold out brazenly.”
 She said now the autonomy under the NC has been diluted to such an extent that the state has to go by central diktats even on the level of dog population to be maintained in Srinagar. “I wonder how Omar Abdullah can live comfortably while more than 50 human beings are bitten by dogs just in Srinagar in what has rightly been called a blood bath” she said and wondered whether the rulers were taking a vicarious pleasure out of the death dance on streets of Srinagar.”
 Calling for a change in the political and economic fortunes Mehbooba said that it could not happen without the active participation of Srinagar in the effort. “Srinagar has to be in the vanguard of the struggle to bring the state out of its troubles on political and developmental fronts,” he added.
 Mehbooba said Srinagar represents the soul and spirit of Kashmir and it had historically been the moral, political and cultural nerve center of Kashmir. But unfortunately the city had fallen on bad times as a result of political exploitation for decades that had resulted in the disempowerment of its people and economic degeneration of a once vibrant city that was known world over for its creativity and entrepreneurship skills, she said. “Unfortunately National Conference only used it as a vote bank in the past and benefited from the boycott politics in the last many elections to claim power without peoples mandate” Mehbooba added and stressed the need for restoration of the political centrality of Srinagar.
  The PDP president said the ruling National Conference is accusing the opposition for all its ills as if “PDP was the only problem the state faced”. “While we point out the gaps in governance with all sincerity for the benefit of the people, the government becomes uncomfortable owing to its arrogance and intolerance” she said while it results in punishment for the people.
 Referring to the delay in holding civic elections Mehbooba said the government was concocting alibis to continue to rule the urban areas through their blue eyed officials who help them perpetuate unauthorized constructions and backdoor recruitments.
 She pointed out that the civic elections were due in 2010 and since then three winters and lean tourist seasons have passed but even now it is in no mood to conduct these elections. “However, they can only delay and not deny the right of the people to have an elected civic body that is empowered sufficiently and is accountable to people” she said.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 29 Apr 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 29 Apr 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 IST