Hitting out at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remarks on Article 370 and 35A, Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said that “if Kashmir is at loss because of these articles, they should set Kashmir free”.
Mehbooba was speaking to the media after addressing anelection meeting in YK Pora in Devsar, Kulgam district, where polling isscheduled on Monday.
“If (PM) Modi thinks that Kashmir is in loss because ofArticle 370 and 35A then why they don’t leave Kashmir,” Mehbooba said.
She said these articles are not only in the interest ofJ&K but the rest of the country as well.
“Anyone talking about the scrapping of J&K’s specialstatus is trying to sow seeds of discord and create new fault lines. If anyharm is done to this unique status, the state will erupt and the relation ofJ&K with India will cease to exist,” Mehbooba said.
She also took on PDP’s former ally, Congress, and theNational Conference for “their assault” on the special position of J&K.
“When Ghulam Nabi Azad Sahab was chief minister of thestate, he sold Kashmiri land to the Shrine Board. Did he not think of Article370 at that time?” Mehbooba said.
The PDP president also came down heavily on NC founderSheikh Muhammad Abdullah.
“Sheikh Sahab accepted the chief minister’s seat aftersigning the infamous accord 1975 with the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.Did National Conference not think of the special status of the state then,” sheasked.
Mehbooba said that for two years she “fought” with the Modi-ledgovernment when the state was ruled by PDP-BJP coalition.
“I had made it clear to (PM) Modi that if they tinker withthe special status of the state then PDP will leave the government,” she said.
On Friday, the Prime Minister had said that if voted back topower, BJP would end the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
The BJP’s election manifesto has mentioned that the partywill abrogate Article 370 and Article 35A of the Indian constitution.
Party’s President Amit Shah has already set 2020 as the deadlinefor scrapping Article 370 and 35A.