The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is up in arms against Lt Governor Manoj Sinha after the administration denied her party the permission of holding a youth convention in the Bijhebara town of Anantnag district today.
A senior officer of the district administration told CNN-News18 that the PDP youth leaders did not take any prior permission from the authorities in the town, hence, they were not allowed to hold the rally.
“There are SOPs laid down that have to be followed for any type of gatherings and for that one needs to have prior permission from the district administration, but in this case no such permission was either taken or applied for,” the official said.
After not being allowed to hold the rally, the PDP youth leaders held a protest in the town accusing the Manoj Sinha-led administration of adopting “dual standards”.
Suhail Bukhari, the spokesperson of the party, who was leading the protest said that it was a “fight for Jammu and Kashmir”.
“Today’s fight is of Jammu Kashmir. BJP feels that Muslims have no right to be in this country. Today, there is no talk of elections but for rights of people of Jammu and Kashmir and this will continue,” he said.
He further alleged that the administration was trying to suppress the People’s Democratic Party. “The administration is trying to suppress PDP. Our leadership is being attacked. They are being stopped from conducting programmes. We won’t get afraid by this and will take the people of J&K with us. Why no notice was served to LG’s iIndoor gathering but to us, COVID-19 is not discriminatory,” Bukhari questioned.
On August 25, the district administration in Shopian had issued a notice to the PDP president for flouting the COVID-19 protocol while holding a public meeting in the district.
“Whereas it has come to the notice…..that president people’s democratic party Mtr Mehbooba Mufti has called a public gathering beyond the prescribed number and beyond the prescribed time in the jurisdiction of tehsil and district Shopian, which is a gross violation of the COVID-19 SOP in vogue” the notice read.
In response to the notice, Mehbooba Mufti asked why double yardsticks were being adopted by the authorities. “This PDP workers meet held in Shopian on August 25 has been flagged by the administration for reason best known to you. It is strange that on the very same day, Honorable LG presided over a function attended by hundreds of people and that too indoors,” she responded.
After today’s event in Anantnag was cancelled, Mehbooba Mufti took to twitter to express her dissatisfaction over the decision of the administration. “PDP Youth is not being allowed to conduct a meeting in BijBehara todat. The gates leading to Mufti sahab’s grave have been locked & blocked with barbed wires. Can @JmuKMrPolice explain why were these young men roughed up?” she tweeted.
She further wrote: “Preventing PDP youth from holding a meeting in South Kashmir reinforces GOIs strategy of not allowing any meaningful political engagement. Esp one that involves Kashmiri youngsters. GOI wants to justify their iron fist approach by branding all Kashmiris as perpetrators of violence.”
“Daily encounters where militants are killed have become a a source of celebration for GOI. But PDP doesn’t believe in violence or dignity in death. We want to fight peacefully & politically. By discouraging political activities GOI is pushing Kashmiris to the wall,” she tweeted.
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