Mehbooba, Omar targets PM Modi's rally in Srinagar: 'Pulling out all stops to ensure crowd, people forced to attend'

Srinagar: Two former Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, Thursday claimed that the administration "coerced" government employees to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Srinagar.

Sharing a video on micro-blogging site 'X', Mehbooba wrote: “Government employees are being herded at five am in sub zero temperatures into vehicles at Budgam bus stand ferrying them to the PM’s rally. Disheartening to see employees being forcibly mobilised to paint a pretty picture that all is well post 2019 & that people here are celebrating their own collective disempowerment & humiliation.”

While comparing this alleged situation unfavourably to past visits by previous Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh during the peak of the insurgency in Kashmir, the firebrand PDP president reminisced about how during those visits, common people attended the events with enthusiasm and returned with hope in their hearts.

“But this time Kashmiris know that everything spoken at Bakshi stadium will be to showcase the so called benefits of illegal abrogation of Article 370 akin to putting salt to their wounds. This visit is only meant to address & drum support amongst BJPs core constituency in the rest of India for the upcoming parliament elections,” she added.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah made a similar claim accusing the J&K of “pulling out all stops” to ensure a crowd for Modi's rally in Srinagar and said the BJP would not be able to do so on its own.

“Employees, men & women both, in their 1000s are being asked to assemble between 4:30 AM & 5: 30 AM in the freezing temperatures to be bused to the venue. This participation isn’t optional, it’s compulsory. Employees who don’t show up are been threatened with disciplinary action by their Dept heads. Private schools like DPS Etc have had their buses commandeered to transport all these employees to the venue (sic),” he wrote on 'X'.

“I have lists running in to the 1000s with department details, addresses & mobile numbers plus transport details. I’ve redacted a portion of one page out of 140 pages. This is the naya J&K but like I said godi media won’t report this. They prefer 'three families', 'new era of development' yada yada,” he concluded.