Srinagar- Considering the silence in Kashmir since the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status as a sign of peace is a flawed understanding, former chief minister and president of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) said on Monday.
Mehbooba Mufti made the remark while speaking to reporters at a party function at her fortified Gupkar residence. “The people in Jammu and Kashmir have been muzzled and considering forceful silence here as peace is not good,” she said.
The induction of additional paramilitary troops into the Kashmir Valley, Mufti said, was a clear indication that the situation on the ground is neither conducive nor improving as is claimed by the BJP. “Recent civilian killings in Kashmir is a total failure of the administration which has failed to prevent such incidents,” she said.
CORRUPTION AT PEAK
Hitting out at the BJP, which frequently makes accusations of corruption against rivals and claims to have eradicated it under Modi’s seven year ongoing rule, Mufti said that ventilators brought by the PM Cares Fund are lying defunct not only in Srinagar, but in Gujarat as well.
The PM Cares – styled on the United States’ “Obama Care” programme, only in name – is a controversial fund that the Government of India officially states isn’t a public authority even though it uses constitutional symbols for publicity and remains opaque to scrutiny, including through the Right to Information requests.
“Huge amount has been transferred to the Prime Minister’s care fund and nobody is answerable to the people,” Mufti said. “Defunct ventilators bought through this fund is a clear indication that it is the biggest scam.”
Mufti further said that “tall claims are made about corruption free government, but during the present times corruption is at its peak and is going on in a sophisticated manner.”
She added: “Statements made by the BJP are not based on facts. These are just words and nothing beyond. These statements do not carry any weight.”