National Conference on Tuesday condemned Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s petty, obnoxious and sinister personal tirades and said her behavior and conduct was unbecoming of a Chief Minister. In a joint statement issued from party headquarters in Srinagar on Tuesday, National Conference General Secretary Haji Ali Mohammad Sagar, NC Provincial President Kashmir Nasir Aslam Wani and NC Provincial President Jammu Devender Singh Rana said the Chief Minister should answer important questions based on genuine apprehensions of the public rather than resorting to personal tirades that undermine the stature of her office and position.“Mehbooba Mufti should realize she has presented herself as an example of hypocrisy, U-turns and treachery after she backtracked on her moralistic rhetoric and every single political slogan and promise that she used to attain political power. The apprehensions of the public voiced by National Conference need to be answered rather than the Chief Minister resorting to deflections. If she can’t put these apprehensions to rest without losing her temper and bringing dishonor to her position, she has no right to continue in her chair”, the NC leaders said.
The NC leaders also asked Mehbooba Mufti to at least try and gain a basic understanding of the State’s history before passing wrong judgements to suit her political ambitions. “It is exactly through pliant, corrupted and co-opted regimes like the present PDP-BJP Government that Article 370 was eroded in the past and the present PDP-BJP Government has exhibited similar nefarious tendencies from its first day in office. It is under this alliance that the State’s special status, its flag and its constitution have been questioned by the BJP while PDP has remained subservient and obedient to them. PDP’s role in gifting land to the Shrine Board in 2008 is a prominent example of the party’s intentions and ulterior motives and this makes their accountability all the more crucial in this matter”, the NC leaders said in the joint statement.“National Conference had asked the State Government to clarify if the proposed ‘Sainik Colony’ for which land is being allocated is meant for State-subjects or would it be open for non State-subjects as well. This apprehension is again vindicated by the recent statement of a BJP MLA yesterday where the lawmaker has asserted that ex-servicemen from the entire country had a right to settle in J&K. Rather than resorting to petulance and snapping at the opposition for raising genuine questions, Mehbooba Mufti should clarify on these recent remarks by her alliance partner – that is if she could possibly ever gather the courage to do so”, the NC leaders added.
The NC Leaders said Mehbooba Mufti pales in comparison to the stature, integrity and statesmanship of NC Working President Omar Abdullah and her personal tirades only expose her lack of civility and standing despite being the Chief Minister of the State. “This is the same Mehbooba Mufti who publicly denounced the BJP and said BJP could never be acceptable to the people of Kashmir. Today the same Mehbooba Mufti grabs every possible opportunity to express her unquestionable obedience and loyalty to the BJP and RSS. Her guilt is overwhelming her. The opposition will continue to hold her and her Government accountable and she should learn to dispense her duties without hiding behind such diversions. Any delusions that Mehbooba Mufti might have about herself contradict her own track-record of betrayals and opportunism”, the NC leaders stated in the joint statement. (KNS)