Mehbooba denies Amit Shah's allegations

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday denied emphatically that she discriminated against Jammu and Ladakh regions and wondered why none of the BJP ministers spoke about it till now if it was true.

In a string of tweets, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief said that whatever happened during the time of the PDP-BJP rule in the state was in accordance with the Agenda of Alliance (AoA) the two parties had drawn up.

"Many false charges levelled against us by our former allies," she said, in response to Amit Shah's statements made in Jammu a day earlier.

"Our commitment to the AoA, co-authored by (BJP leader) Ram Madhav and endorsed by senior leaders like Rajnath (Singh) never wavered. It is sad to see them disown their own initiative and label it a 'soft approach'.

"Status quo on Article 370, dialogue with Pakistan and Hurriyat were a part of AoA. Encouraging dialogue, withdrawing cases against stone-pelters and the unilateral ceasefire were much needed measures to restore confidence on the ground. This was recognized and endorsed by the BJP.

"Allegations of discrimination against Jammu and Ladakh have no basis in reality. Yes, the (Kashmir) Valley has been in turmoil for a long time and the floods of 2014 were a setback, therefore needed focused attention. But that does not mean that there was any less development elsewhere," she added.

"If anything they (BJP) should review the performance of their own ministers, who largely represented the Jammu region. If there were any such concerns, none among them either at state or central level talked about it during the last three years."

Mehbooba Mufti said that not handing over the Rasana rape and murder case to the CBI, getting the "pro-rapist Ministers" removed from the cabinet and issuing orders not to harass the Gujjar and Bakarwal community in the guise of anti-encroachment drives were her duty as Chief Minister.

"After expressing concern about freedom of expression in J&K following Shujaat (Bukhari)'s murder, their MLA, notorious..., still threatens journalists belonging to the valley. So what are they going to do about him?"

--IANS

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