'Unnerved' BJP will use grenades and guns to bag seats, says Mehbooba Mufti

Alleging that BJP may resort to violence, she said that people should defeat BJP this time and ensure PAGD's victory

On a day the NIA arrested PDP youth president Waheed Parra, the party president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti alleged that ‘unnerved’ BJP might resort to violence to keep people away from voting in upcoming district development council (DDC) polls.

“They (BJP) will use grenades and guns to bag seats, but people should defeat BJP this time and ensure victory of PAGD candidates,” she told reporters in south Kashmir’s Shopian district.

“The BJP was of the belief that parties like National Conference, PDP, Peoples Conference and CPI (M) won’t participate in DDC polls so that they can ensure the victory of their candidates through backdoor channels. But the decision of these parties to contest has unnerved the BJP,” the PDP chief alleged.

Corroborating her allegations, she said their decision to join the poll fray was the reason that the PAGD candidates were barred from campaigning in southern districts and other parts of the valley.

The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) is an alliance of seven parties formed on October 15 to work towards restoring the special status of J&K which was revoked last August. On November 7, the alliance decided to contest DDC polls in J&K unitedly.

The PDP chief said that she had come to Shopian to meet the PAGD candidate, who was not allowed for the past 15 days to come out of his home, to do his campaigning. “I am surprised that Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha and Election Commissioner KK Sharma are repeatedly saying there would be no discrimination with the PAGD candidates. But it is happening,” she added.

Sharma in a presser recently denied that any candidate was prevented from campaigning.

Mehbooba said that PAGD candidates will work hard for J&K’s identity that was “stolen on August 5, 2019.”

Asked about the name of former PDP leader Haseeb Drabu surfacing among the 900 people who have allegedly grabbed land under Roshni Scam, the PDP president said that BJP is using ploys to divert attention. “At times, it uses DC to summon Farooq Abdullah and not Roshni scam is a new ploy. If I would be found involved in the Roshni scam, I will be the first person to choose jail,” she said.