Jammu
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Monday asserted she will hold the Tricolour and the flag of the erstwhile state of J&K together, saying as an MLA she had reaffirmed her faith in the J&K Constitution and the sovereignty and integrity of India as both are inseparable.
“We are the people, especially in the Kashmir Valley, who upheld the Tricolour high over the years at the cost of thousands of our workers who were martyred,” Mufti told reporters here at the end of her five-day visit to Jammu — her first after release from over one-year-long detention under the Pubic Safety Act.
In a scathing attack on BJP, besides the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) without naming it, she said, “Those moving with half pants and where their leader sits do not hoist the Tricolour (at their headquarters) and they are giving us lessons on the national flag.”
She said her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed picked up the national flag when they were being dismissed as ‘insects of filthy drain’ and subjected to social boycott. “We, including the BJP members, have taken an oath (in the assembly and council) that we will affirm our faith in the Constitution of J&K and will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India. First, it was the J&K Constitution and then the sovereignty and integrity of the country. How is it, they cut one finger and leave the other, it is not right,” she said.
If she will hold the tricolour, Mufti said, “I had already replied that I have taken an oath of the J&K Constitution when I became the MLA for the first time and I affirm my faith to the Constitution of J&K and uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India — both of which are interlinked. J&K flag and Indian flag, I will uphold both these flags together.”
Mehbooba Mufti on Monday attacked the BJP policies, asserting “the party will meet the same fate as the outgoing US president Donald Trump.” The PDP chief said, “I want to congratulate Tejashwi who is a young man and has set a narrative with a focus on roti, kapda aur makan (bread, clothes and house).” Soon after congratulating Yadav, she added, “The BJP raked up the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A and opening of J&K for the people across the country but it did not work for them as people are more concerned about their meals.” She also referred to the Centre’s new farm laws and land laws in J&K and said, “The BJP failed to provide two square meals to the people, leave aside the creation of promised two crore jobs every year. The party instead tried to sell the abrogation of Article 370 to the voters in the country.”
