Budgam betrayed, NC’s promises turned to dust: Mehbooba Mufti

Budgam, Nov 8: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) President and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday accused the National Conference (NC) of “betraying and deceiving” the people of Jammu and Kashmir, alleging that the party had failed to fulfill the promises it made before elections.

Addressing a public gathering in Budgam, Mehbooba said that despite being in power for a year, the NC had not delivered on its commitments, including free LPG cylinders, free electricity, and free ration.

“One party comes and another goes, and people are made to believe that things will change. A year ago, NC said they would not allow installation of electricity meters and would throw them into the river,” she said.

“They had promised 200 units of free electricity, assured that poor families would get LPG free of cost, and even vowed to provide free ration. What happened to those promises?” the PDP chief said.

She said that the NC had also pledged to address issues of reservation injustice and assured that no houses built on grazing land would be demolished.

“Today, none of those assurances have been kept,” Mehbooba said.

Taking a dig at Chief Minister and NC Vice President Omar Abdullah, she said, “Omar Sahab himself said he would contest from both Ganderbal and Budgam and retain the seat where he received more votes. He got more votes in Budgam, yet he left this seat. Tell me, what has he done for Budgam since then?”

The PDP chief said that while government employees were being dismissed, houses were blasted, and frequent raids were conducted, Budgam continued to face neglect.

“Omar Sahab came to Budgam two days ago, but in the past year, did he hold a single meeting here? Did he ever ask what can be done for Budgam, which still has no new MLA? Nothing of that sort has happened,” she said.

Mehboba accused NC representatives of visiting Budgam only for electoral purposes, without delivering anything meaningful for the people.

“They say they have kept everything safe for the people, but tell me, have they really thought about the people of Budgam?” she said.

Recalling Budgam’s long political association with NC, the PDP President said, “Since 1977, you have been voting for NC. You made Aga Mehmood Sahab your MLA and minister so many times that you may not even remember. But what did you get in return? Nothing. The roads remain in poor condition, and people’s lives have not changed.”

Urging people to introspect and seek real change, she appealed to the people of Budgam to support PDP for a “genuine alternative.”