‘If you want to make India ‘Vishwaguru’ then…: Mehbooba Mufti to PM Narendra Modi

Srinagar: Targeting the Central government’s ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign, PDP President Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday (July 28) said, “You have politicised Tiranga too. You are threatening people to hoist flag in every house. Is this normalcy and Naya Kashmir?” She said “forcing” people to hoist tricolour in the Kashmir valley wouldn’t achieve anything. Daring the BJP, Mufti said, “If you really have guts, unfurl the tricolour in part of land illegally occupied by China.” 

Speaking at the party’s 23rd foundation day at Sher-e-Kashmir park in Srinagar, the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister lashed out at BJP for the alleged “mishandling” of the Kashmir situation and “disturbing” peace in region.

Mehbooba Mufti said, “I want to tell Modi ji, if you want to make India Vishwaguru then you should first establish peace in Jammu and Kashmir and save the nation first.” Further, attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mufti said “You are destroying the democratic fabric of India. The path of Vishwguru goes through Kashmir not through G20. It comes through SAARC”. The PDP chief said India should have called for a SAARC on the Sri Lanka issue, but they failed to do so.

She said the biggest hurdle in SAARC is Indo-Pakistan relations and until the relations between the two countries are normalised, Kashmir will “continue to suffer”.  

The PDP chief said “old raiders and Kings invaded Kashmir and destroyed temples here to construct mosques and you are destroying mosques to construct temples. What is the difference between them and you?” She said people don’t remember those who destroy but remember those who construct nations. 

Mufti said when India and Pakistan can conduct trade through Punjab then why not through Kashmir– is there any war going on here? 

She said Pakistan has invited everyone to be part of CPEC and India objected but they will not stop because you did not stop on Article 370 either. “People in POK are lucky that they will be part of CPEC and part of development,” Mufti added. 

The former J&K CM alleged that Amarnath Yatra has also been “politicised” and Yatris have been “sacrificed for an agenda”. “I will talk about Pakistan and support dialogue with the neighbouring country till the day 10 lakh armed forces are in Kashmir and peace will not be restored in Kashmir,” Mufti said. 

Attacking the BJP, she said the saffron party achieved a  majority in the Centre and abrogated Article 370 “unconstitutionally” in Jammu and Kashmir. 

She alleged that the government is “handing our lands to Army and industrialists and dislocating local tribals from lands which belong to them”. “All this is destroying the peace in Jammu and Kashmir, and it can’t be restored here till Modi government returns the Jammu and Kashmir that it took from us. 

“I tell PM Modi not to be a blacksmith but a goldsmith. We had accepted not only the flag of India but also the constitution of India. But we too have a flag and constitution of our own. Until the same is not restored peace cannot come in Jammu and Kashmir and in South Asia,” Mufti stated.