BJP dividing country on religious lines; Cong kept it safe: Mehbooba Mufti

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday alleged that BJP was devoid of any development agenda hence it was fanning communal passion to divide the people and the country on religious lines while Congress kept it safe all these years.

She was addressing a workers’ convention in Vijaypur in the Samba district.

PDP president alleged that the ruling dispensation led by BJP had failed to provide better road infrastructure, regular water, and power supply besides addressing basic issues of people hence it was trying to distract them (people) by raking up non-issues.

“They want us to continue fighting with Pakistan. That’s why their Hindu-Muslim rant continues with the sole objective to divide people. Earlier they would rake up the name of Jinnah, now they have gone far ahead. Now they take the names of Mughal rulers Babar and Aurangzeb, who ruled the nation 800 and 500 years ago. What have we to do with them? Why are we remembering them? Don’t they have issues of road, water, and electricity to address?” Mehbooba asked.

“We (J&K) supply electricity to other parts of the country. However, it (UT) has no power for our farmers to ensure water supply to irrigate their fields. People are suffering for want of water. Our youth are moving from pillar to post for jobs. They are in distress. Mothers and sisters are feeling helpless, worrying about the future of their sons and brothers who are taking to consumption of drugs, in majority cases out of frustration,” she said.

“This is not election time. I’ve not come here to seek votes. I’m here just to tell you that Congress would have committed many blunders in its rule of five decades or so. But they (Congress) kept the country safe. It did not allow the country to disintegrate by equally treating Hindus and Muslims. But BJP is hell-bent on disintegrating this country. Jinnah created one Pakistan, they want to split the country and create many Pakistans hence creating divisions between Hindus-Muslims, Dalit-Brahmins, and Dalit Rajputs. That is why they have raised the Hijab controversy, encroaching upon the rights of Muslim girls. This will not remain restricted to Muslims. Will it be acceptable to anyone in the country to replace the tricolor with a saffron flag,” she questioned.

Obliquely joining the row over the film “The Kashmir Files”, Mehbooba, while addressing the rally said, “When (the former Prime Minister Atal Behari) Vajpayee had gone to Pakistan, the guns provided by the latter killed seven Hindus here in the hilly terrains of Jammu region.”