![PDP workers assembled at Bijbehara in Anantnag district to pay homage to party founder and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. -Excelsior/Sajad Dar PDP workers assembled at Bijbehara in Anantnag district to pay homage to party founder and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. -Excelsior/Sajad Dar](https://cdndailyexcelsior.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/page3-2-6-696x392.jpg)
Baig rejoins PDP, attends party function
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Jan 7: President of the Peoples Democratic Party Mehbooba Mufti today said reconciliation, not repression, is the way to peace with dignity in Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking on the eighth death anniversary of party founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the PDP president said: “We recommit ourselves to the ideals he stood for – peace, reconciliation, and justice. Mufti Sayeed’s legacy lives on in our hearts, and it is our collective responsibility to carry forward the torch of his vision.”
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Mufti expressed concern over the way the Union Government is treating the people of J&K. “Don’t treat common people of J&K as enemies or militants. In Nagaland, you are entering into accord with militants, and in J&K you are treating common people as militants as was done in Topi Peer Bufliaz in Poonch. Is this how you treat your own people?” she said.
Mufti urged party workers and supporters “not to lose hope in the face of challenges”.
She emphasized the importance of continuing the struggle for dignified peace through the values and vision set forth by the party founder.
“There is the need to continue the struggle for dignified peace through the values and vision set forth by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed,” she said.
Veteran politician Muzaffar Hussain Baig today rejoined the PDP during the function. “Baig has returned to the PDP,” a party spokesperson said.
Baig, who was a co-founder of the PDP in the late 1990s, was made the party’s patron following Sayeed’s death in 2016. A former Deputy Chief Minister, Baig quit the party in 2020 and was tipped to join the People’s Conference led by Sajad Lone.
While Baig’s wife Safina joined Lone’s party, the former Lok Sabha member from Baramulla did not make an official announcement about his status. Baig’s return to PDP assumes significance as it comes less than four months ahead of Lok Sabha elections. Speaking to reporters Baigh said that he had never left the PDP.
The PDP earlier paid glowing tribute to its founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on his 8th Death Anniversary.
The event witnessed an outpouring of support from the party cardre, with hundreds expressing their unwavering commitment to the cause Mufti championed throughout his political career.