Mehbooba alleges PDP workers detained on polling day, holds protest in Anantnag

Bijbehara, May 25: PDP President and party’s candidate for Anantnag-Rajouri Lok sabha constituency on Saturday held a protest in front of a police station in her home town Bijbehara against the alleged detention of her workers.

The police, however, said that mostly OGWs were detained to allow peaceful conduct of polls.

The PDP chief along with a group of her party workers including women staged a sit-in on Jammu-Srinagar national highway, demanding the immediate release of her workers. Mehbooba told reports that the polling agents of her party were detained without any rhyme or reason. “If they are so afraid of me going to parliament, the LG should tell me not to run for elections,” she said.

She alleged that the LG administration was attempting to repeat 1987. “All PDP polling agents have been detained in different police stations,” she said. Mehbooba said that Atal Bihari Vajpayee had announced from the Red Fort that free and fair polls would be conducted in Jammu and Kashmir. “And are you there to destroy everything,” Mehbooba questioned LG Manoj Sinha. She said that the workers of her party from more or less every place across the district were detained.

“It is not only about Bijbehara, they were detained from Dialgam, Ashmuqam, Pahalgam and other places as well,” she said.

Mehbooba said that it was very unfortunate that the LG administration had issued the directions to detain the PDP workers and polling agents. The former Chief Minister also alleged that the services on her mobile phone were also suspended. Responding to Mehbooba, Police in Anantnag said that only a few people were detained who have tainted past and based on credible inputs of potential threats to law and order and security on polling day.

“Mostly they are OGWs and are taken into preventive custody for ensuring safe and peaceful elections”, the police said in a post on X.