There were sharp reactions across political parties on PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti over her remarks on a dialogue with Pakistan for solving the Kashmir issue.
On Thursday, activists of Dogra Front and Shiv Sena (DF&SS) led by Party president Ashok Gupta burnt effigy of former Chief Minister of erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti for her statement wherein she said that the Govt of India should hold talk with Pakistan over Kashmir issue.
She made the remark ahead of a meeting of Kashmiri leaders with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital on Thursday.
The protestors were raising slogans against the former Chief Minister during the protest. “The former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir should move to Pakistan with their family members if she doesn’t like India and its laws including CAA or abrogation of Article 370,” protestors said.
The protestors were raising slogans against the former Chief Minister during the protest | ANI
Slamming her remarks, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Wednesday said the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister must understand that talks with Islamabad cannot be held until the neigbouring country puts and end to terrorism.
Speaking to ANI, Athawale said: "How can we hold talks with Pakistan till terrorism does not stop? I want to remind Mufti that when Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji was the Prime Minister, he had called Musharraf ji here and there were talks for two days. I want to say to Mehbooba Mufti that if the lives of the people of Kashmir are to be saved, terrorism has to end." He added that every day there have been attacks on Ïndian soldiers. "There have been attempts of infiltrations. In this situation, talks cannot be resumed. Mehbooba Mufti must understand that the government of India is against Pakistan's terrorism but not against Pakistan," he said.
Even Jammu and Kashmir's Apni Party chief Syed Altaf Bukhari took strong exception to former chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti's recent remarks that Pakistan should also be involved in a dialogue for a resolution to the Kashmir issue.
"As a representative of Jammu and Kashmir, it is our firm belief that our issues will be resolved by New Delhi, not by Islamabad, Washington, or London... It could be part of an agenda which she (Mehbooba Mufti) keeps harping on," said Bukhari.
