Ahead of the sixth anniversary of the revocation of Article 370, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday launched a strong attack on the BJP-led Central government, saying the policy to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its special status has “completely failed.”
Addressing reporters in Jammu on Saturday, Mufti said, “Six full years have passed since August 5, 2019. At that time, Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was taken away, and Article 370 was revoked with the claim that everything would be fine in Jammu and Kashmir. But we have seen that the policy has completely failed.”
Mufti alleged that the internal situation in the region has deteriorated rather than improved, pointing to ongoing security crackdowns
She said, “Internally, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is bad. For the past six years, arrests have been made daily. The situation in Jammu and Kashmir has become worse than before, although people are silent today. This is why our country has come into confrontation with Pakistan. What is Pakistan’s stature? Their economy is not even a tenth of our economy, but today the whole world is comparing us with them.”
The former Chief Minister also criticised what she termed the BJP’s “aggressive policy” and its broader impact on regional diplomacy.
“Unfortunately, the BJP has created such an atmosphere in the country that today all groups are saying, why did you agree to a ceasefire? This is the BJP’s aggressive policy.”
In August 2019, the Central government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, repealed Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, effectively ending the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the state into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The restoration of statehood has been a key demand from the regional political parties in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganisation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories in August 2019. (ANI)
