G20 meet in Kashmir: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti hit out at the BJP government over the G20 summit which will be held in Jammu and Kashmir from May 22 to 24 and said that the saffron party has hijacked the event of the country. She further said that the ruling BJP trying to portray to the world that everything is fine.
" G20 is an event for the country but BJP has hijacked it, they have even replaced the logo with Lotus, the logo should have been something related to the country, not a party...it is the SAARC that will establish the leadership of our country within this region...why not have a SAARC summit and address our problem,” Mufti said.
Notably, in November last year, the government at the centre unveiled the logo for the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Jammu and Kashmir. The logo also had a lotus flower in it. The ruling BJP and the Congress broke into a war of words over the use of the lotus flower in the logo.
‘Congress’ Karnataka victory ray of hope to entire country’
Mufti also hailed the people of Karnataka for giving a ray of hope to the entire country by defeating a "fascist, communal and divisive" BJP in the recently-concluded Assembly election.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, she said, “When everyone had given up, Karnataka has given a ray of hope to the entire country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and everyone in the BJP were using religion in the Karnataka elections but still, people voted them out.”
She, however, cautioned people against the developments that happened in Delhi, saying that it was a wake-up call for everyone as it can happen anywhere in the country. Mufti was referring to an ordinance passed by the President on Friday, May 20, giving overriding powers to Delhi's Lieutenant Governor -- a union government nominee -- to oversee the transfer, posting and disciplinary proceedings against civil servants in Delhi.
"Whatever happened in Delhi is a wake-up call for everyone. Whatever happened in Jammu and Kashmir is going to happen around the whole country."
‘BJP doesn't want to have any opposition’
The PDP chief further said, "BJP doesn't want to have any opposition. The Delhi government has been disempowered. This is going to happen to everyone."
According to her, Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra had laid the foundation for Congress’ victory in the Karnataka Assembly election. “Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra laid the foundation for Karnataka''s victory. The last five years were hit by hatred and communal politics, in Karnataka too but the state has given a chance again to democracy. Divisive politics was played here also in Karnataka. Now Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar will heal the wounds," the PDP chief said.
‘Won't fight Assembly elections till Article 370 is restored’
The former chief minister said that she will not contest the Assembly election till Article 370 is restored in her state. However, her party PDP will contest the election. “I won't fight Assembly elections till Article 370 is restored in Jammu & Kashmir...I don't see Assembly elections being held in the near future,” said the PDP chief.
Talking about her state, she said Jammu and Kashmir was given special status, which was the best example of federalism, but "the state was dismembered, disintegrated and disempowered by abrogating Article 370 of the Indian constitution".
"Today ours is the most militarised state where everyday harassing and frisking are happening in the name of security," the former chief minister pointed out.
‘J-K now open-air prison’
Stating that Jammu and Kashmir has become an open-air prison, Mufti alleged that China is now interfering in its affairs, which only Pakistan used to do earlier. "This is what the BJP has done by abrogating Article 370," she lamented.
She said she spoke about her state to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and others during the swearing-in ceremony of Siddaramaiah as Karnataka CM. "I want people to pay attention to what has happened in Jammu and Kashmir. All our passports have been confiscated. If this can happen to a family where I was a CM, and my mother is wife of Late Mufti Mohammed Syed, a former CM and former union minister, it can happen to everyone," the PDP chief said.
On a question about Congress not inviting many opposition parties' chief ministers during the swearing-in ceremony of Siddaramaiah yesterday, such as BRS's K Chandrasekhar Rao, YSR Congress's Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, AAP's Arvind Kejriwal and CPI(M)'s Pinarayi Vijayan, Mehbooba Mufti said the Congress has to sacrifice more; "otherwise there are other options".
(With agencies input)
