Mehbooba accuses Govt of plunging state into “worst crisis

Srinagar: Opposition Peoples Democratic Party Saturday accused ruling coalition of plunging Jammu and Kashmir into the worst crisis of its history.

Addressing a joint meeting MLAs, senior leaders and district presidents of Kashmir here today, president of the party, Mehbooba Mufti said National Conference and Congress alliance had on the one hand let loose a reign of ‘repression’ and on the other failed in its basic duty of providing even a semblance of governance.

“Instead of addressing this situation, the government has outsourced everything to its police and propaganda machinery,” she said.
“The youth were the worst victims of this crisis,” Mehbooba, the daughter of former chief minister Mufti Sayeed, said in a statement issued here.

She accused the National Conference of exploited the sentiments of the people “throughout history” and enjoyed power without accountability.

“The party having no commitment to the issues facing people is now finding it hard to retain its character as an effective political party.”

She claimed that the emergence of PDP “as a strong and viable political force” had unnerved the NC, “which over the decades had enjoyed a free run of the political space in the state.”

“NC has resorted to the vilification of PDP and other political opponents during the recent unrest and tried to project the uprising against it as a sponsored effort. But the PDP stood by its principles, its broad based and positive political agenda and sided with the people and their sentiments which had displeased many powerful quarters but the party stood like a solid rock and tried to highlight the people’s sentiments and problems in right spirit.”

Mehbooba said the NC government had failed to provide basic amenities like electricity, rations and cooking gas and had been a partner in scarcity of essentials, hoarding and profiteering. She said the government machinery was hand in glove with the hoarders and profiteers which has resulted in unprecedented price rise in the state

She said after the announcement of eight point programme by the centre, the PDP had given a three month grace period to the government to change its ways and apply balm to the people.

“We had hoped that the loss of 117 lives would have stirred the conscience of the ruling party and it would try to provide relief to the affected families, hundreds of destitute and the injured and disabled but instead it seemed to have become more arrogant and power drunk. It has refused to learn from its blunders and converted the state into a virtual prison.

The political leaders continued to languish in jail and the few who have been released are placed under house arrest,” she said.

She said that PSA was slapped against hundreds of young boys and some of them teenage children.