“Omar filed FIRs against youths, I joined hands with BJP govt and…”: Mehbooba Mufti

Anantnag (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], September 14 (ANI): People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Mehbooba Mufti said on Saturday that she joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and withdrew 12,000 FIRs against youths, while Omar Abdullah, during his regime, filed FIRs against them.

“The youths know that PDP is that party that has always thought for them and worked for them…I challenge Omar Abdullah that during their regime they filed FIRs against several youths. I joined hands with the BJP government and withdrew 12,000 FIRs,” Mufti said.

Earlier, Mufti defended her party’s contributions to Jammu and Kashmir, particularly South Kashmir, during a media briefing on Thursday. Mufti claimed the PDP has been crucial in addressing the region’s challenges.

“The people of South Kashmir have understood what the PDP has done for them. The biggest difficulties of POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) and task forces were in South Kashmir. We freed the people from all of that,” Mufti said.

Discussing the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, Mufti underlined that the PDP’s past work and future promises are crucial. “Our challenge is to improve on our past work. We have opened colleges, universities, and introduced schemes like Rehbar-e-Taleem and Rehbar-e-Khel,” she said.

Mufti also criticised the BJP’s job promises. “BJP says 5 lakh youth will be given jobs, but they also claimed that 2 crore people would be given jobs nationwide every year. Even 1 crore out of 2 crore were not given jobs in the last 10 years. Lying requires no effort,” she added.

Mufti’s comments come as political parties intensify their campaigns for the upcoming Assembly election. Polling will be held in three phases: September 18, September 25, and October 1, with vote counting scheduled for October 8.

Both the National Conference and PDP have included the restoration of Article 370 in their election manifestos, while the BJP maintains that Article 370 is a thing of the past.