Stop misusing CBI, NIA for political vendetta: Mehbooba

While welcoming Supreme Court decision to reinstate Alok Verma as CBI director, PDP president and former CM of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti said that it was high time for Centre to stop ‘misusing agencies like the CBI and the NIA for political vendetta.’

“Welcome SCs decision to reinstate #AlokVerma as CBI Dir. Reinstates belief in independent institutions of our democracy that are its pillars,” Mehbooba tweeted in reaction to the Supreme Court order earlier in the day that reinstated Verma as the CBI Director.

“Time for the Central gov to stop misusing its influence to arm-twist investigative agencies like NIA & CBI for political vendetta,” she added.

Earlier, on Monday Mehbooba apologised for her ‘toffee’ remark she had made during the peak of 2016 summer unrest, and addressed the youth killed that year as “martyrs”.

“I was concerned like a mother about the young people who were getting killed and injured. It hurt me that some people with vested interests were pushing young boys towards army camps and police stations,” the former CM said.

After the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8, 2016, Mehbooba—while addressing a press conference in Srinagar alongside union home minister Rajnath Singh on August 25 that year—had justified the killing of youth, saying “they were not going to army camps and police stations to buy toffees and fetch milk”.

Not only separatists but Mehbooba’s bête-noire Omar Abdullah used the statement against her on social media and political rallies, terming the remark as insensitive.

The PDP chief also claimed that she was forced to form a government with BJP after her father’s demise (January 2016) as her position to renegotiate was weakened by some of the party leaders.