Srinagar, May 29: PDP leader Iltija Mufti labelled the registration of an FIR against party President, Mehbooba Mufti, as a tactic of “intimidation,” but vowed that they would not succumb to such pressure.
Mehbooba Mufti faced legal action after she protested against the detention of PDP workers and election agents on May 25.
“An FIR has been registered against Mehbooba Mufti for MCC (model code of conduct) violation. This is intimidation and we are not going to take it lying down. We will not kneel. We are here to speak the truth,”Iltija, serving as the PDP’s media adviser, told reporters.
The controversy arose following a sit-in protest by Mehbooba Mufti on the day of polling in the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat of Jammu and Kashmir (J-K). According to Iltija, the protest was meant to highlight the detention of PDP workers and election agents, rather than to create a scene. “When a former Chief Minister has to hit the streets, what does it say about democracy?” she questioned.
Iltija alleged that the police had detained PDP activists and election agents just hours before the voting began, subsequently labelling them as over ground workers (OGWs) of terrorists. “Like the 1990s, police picked them up on the night before polling. Cordon and search operations were launched in only those places which were traditional bastions and strongholds of the PDP,” she said. “Then they were labelled as OGWs. How dare you slander our boys? These boys play an important role in mobilizing voters. They want to keep the flag of democracy high, but you are labelling them as OGWs.”
The PDP leader accused the central government and the J-K administration of conspiring to create fear in PDP strongholds to suppress voter turnout. “The Centre, in cohorts with the J-K administration, wanted to create terror in the areas which have been traditional bastions of the PDP, to decrease voting,” she alleged.
“The truth is that they tried to keep the polling percentage low. You played mischief in Pulwama also,” she said. According to her, the government aimed to “tacitly rig” the elections in South Kashmir because they feared Mehbooba Mufti’s influence.
“You dare not touch our boys. We will not allow you to take out the funeral of democracy,” she demanded the immediate release of detained PDP workers.