Mehbooba slams Govt for favouring jailed leaders

Pulwama, Sep 10: Launching a veiled attack on Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) leader Engineer Rashid, People’s Democratic Party President and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti Tuesday said that the government was facilitating those leaders who were in jails.

“On one hand, poor families are not allowed to see their children languishing in jails, while on the other hand, people are contesting elections from jails and receive security,” she told reporters in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

Mufti said that even after an attack on her party candidate by the AIP workers, the Police issued notice to her candidate instead of taking action against them.

“Now you can understand the situation of those who are contesting elections from jails,” she said.

Mufti said that the PDP had been the only party that talked about the resolution of the Kashmir issue and the incarcerated youth. She said that the PDP’s track record vis-à-vis the devolvement of J&K was exemplary.

“PDP built universities, AIIMS, opened roads, and provided employment to youth by rolling out schemes like Rehbar-e-Taleem,” Mufti said.

She said that the developmental work of the PDP had disturbed other parties.

Earlier, addressing an election rally, Mufti said that during the three years of PDP’s rule, the region witnessed huge development.

“We constructed Mughal Road and opened Muzaffarabad Road,” she said.

Referring to former Jamaat-e-Islami members contesting polls, Mufti said that now there were people who claimed that they were the candidates of Jamaat-e-Islami.

“But the real Jamaat-e-Islami members are in jails and the agencies like the Enforcement Directorate and the National Investigation Agency are after them,” she said.

Mufti said that they were trying to split the Jamaat in the manner they disintegrated the PDP.

She said that if the government wanted Jamaat to be part of the democratic process, it should lift the ban on the organisation.

Mufti said that only the people of J&K had the right to their land and jobs.

She appealed to the voters to cast their votes in favour of the PDP candidates.