Mehbooba urges NC alliance to pass resolution rejecting Waqf amendments

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday urged the Jammu and Kashmir assembly to pass a resolution, rejecting the amendments to the Waqf Act passed by Parliament.

Wednesday is the last day of the Budget session of the assembly.

"With today possibly marking the end of this assembly session the ruling alliance should prioritise passing a resolution to reject this bill rather than prolonging the political spectacle," the former chief minister said in a post on X.

The PDP president also referred to the chance meeting between Chief minister Omar Abdullah and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju at the Tulip Garden here recently, saying the meeting seemed to be a signal to 24 crore Muslims of the country.

The ruling National Conference has already rubbished the charges, saying the opposition was "fishing in the desert".

"After bulldozing the Waqf Amendment Bill through Parliament, Minister Kiren Rijiju strategically chose to visit Kashmir. He was given red carpet welcome by the Chief Minister of India's only Muslim majority state - a move that seemed designed & deliberate to signal to the 24 crore Muslims across India that their views hold little weight when the leader of the country's only Muslim-majority region stands in support," Mehbooba said.

"The visit set against the backdrop of Asia's largest tulip garden felt like a public celebration of the community's marginalisation and disempowerment," she added.

The PDP president said Abdullah's actions only deepened sense of alienation and helplessness within the Muslim community.

"The Chief Minister's actions not only deepened the sense of alienation and helplessness within the Muslim community but also lent legitimacy to this unilateral decision widely perceived as dismissive of their interests," she said.