Saffron party:Ex-CM’s remarks provocative

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 14

Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s warning to the Centre against engineering split in the PDP has evoked a strong reaction from her erstwhile alliance partner BJP which has termed her statement as highly controversial.

BJP’s national vice-president Avinash Rai Khanna, who is also in-charge of J&K affairs of the party, said by giving such threats Mehbooba was trying to address a particular constituency of the Kashmir valley at the cost of peace-loving people of J&K.

“Her statement is highly provocative and instigating,” Khanna told mediapersons at Jammu, adding, “As a responsible leader of a mainstream political party of a sensitive state, like J&K, Mehbooba should not speak in such threatening language.”

“It is very unfortunate that a senior leader of a mainstream party is issuing such warning and misleading statement to the sabotage the process of peace and reconciliation in the state,” former Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta said while reacting to Mehbooba’s remarks on Friday.

Gupta said instead of giving such statements to hoodwink people, Mehbooba should rather introspect why she failed to work as Chief Minister of all three regions of the state.

“Such statements are the outcome of her failure in handling the affairs of the state in an impartial manner and thus denying the due share of development to all three regions, which was the core issue of the alliance partners, clearly mentioned in the agenda of alliance. Moreover, she created a sense of confusion and regional divide among the people,” he further said.

Another veteran BJP leader Ashok Khajuria said Mehbooba’s statement vindicated the stand of party’s central leadership to severe ties with a party which has a dangerous hidden agenda.

“Our national president had warned at Jammu on June 23 that real faces of such forces would be exposed and Friday’s warning of Mehbooba has substantiated our apprehension that the PDP leadership was pursuing secessionist agenda in the state,” Khajuria said, adding, “We do not care for power and denounce any such statement given by any party for their petty political gains. We had entered into an alliance to respect the mandate given by the public so that we can work more efficiently for development. Anybody who will speak with hatred against India will not be spared,” he said.