Independents are not ‘real’ Jamaat: Mehbooba Mufti to voters ahead of J&K polls

Former chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday said the Centre was trying to create factions within the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) cadres by not lifting the ban on it.

Canvassing for PDP’s youth president Waheed-ur-Rahman Parra, the party’s Pulwama candidate, Mufti said they were the only ones calling for the resolution of the Kashmir issue. “We don’t want power to rule but we will talk about the release of Kashmiri youth lodged in different jails,” Mehbooba Mufti said as enthusiastic workers, mostly youths, waved green flags with the party symbol.

Drawing parallels between Jamaat and PDP, Mufti said the Centre banned Jamaat, closed down their schools and now want to break their unity in the same manner that they did PDP.

“Now, everyone is claiming that the independents are candidates of Jamaat, but the reality is that the original Jamaat is in jail. The NIA and ED are after them,” she said, adding that if the Centre really wants Jamaat to be a part of the democratic process, they should lift the ban on the organisation and release their leaders.

Seeking votes for Parra who took a solid lead in Pulwama segment during the Lok Sabha, Mufti reminded people of the developmental works carried out by the PDP. “We will highlight the issue of our youth who are in jails and the Kashmir issue,” she said, adding that they had gotten the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road and the Mughal road constructed during the last tenure. “Even in the coalition government with BJP government, I dropped two BJP members for supporting crime (referenceing to the rape of a tribal girl),” she said.

Pulwama is witnessing a direct contest between PDP youth leader Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra and NC candidate and former minister Khaleel Bandh, also a PDP turncoat.

“I support Parra. He is young and a highly qualified candidate who has given a sacrifice and remained in jail for a year. He is a true fighter,” Abdul Majid, who had come to attend the event from Dogripora, 7 km away, said.

Notably, the National Conference has made inroads into Pulwama, considered a stronghold of the PDP, in the last two assembly polls. Two days ago, DDC chairperson from Pulwama, Bari Andrabi, had also resigned from the PDP and joined the National Conference.