Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Apr 15: While accusing the National Conference (NC) of “throwing Muslims under the bus,” People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti today questioned whether the NC has a “tacit understanding” with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the Waqf Amendment Act.
Speaking to reporters here, Iltija said the NC is engaging in propaganda over Waqf, pointing out that the amendments in question were made before the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed became Chief Minister.
“Omar is now the Chief Minister with 50 members. Tamil Nadu brought a resolution against the Waqf Amendment Act, and for three days, he did nothing-just strolled around with the Union Minister. Is there an understanding with the BJP that they won’t talk about the Waqf and won’t bring any resolution?” she asked.
“When he should have been in the Assembly, he was at the Tulip Garden. Was he acting as a guide? They’ve thrown Muslims under the bus.”
The PDP leader accused the National Conference of normalizing the abrogation of Article 370 and “peddling” the BJP’s agenda of Statehood.
“They’ve normalized the abrogation of Article 370. Now they’re normalizing the disempowerment of Muslims,” she said.
“Statehood is not our ultimate goal we have to fight for the identity of J&K. The NC is peddling the BJP’s agenda, because Statehood is BJP’s agenda.”
She said Dr. Farooq Abdullah must explain why the party has not brought any resolution so far, despite J&K being the only Muslim-majority state in India.
“Not only the Muslims of J&K, but Muslims across the country were looking up to us-and the NC Government has let them down.”
Iltija said the NC is avoiding Muslim issues and alleged that the party values power more than principles. “The Act is meant to disempower Muslims, but the NC won’t speak out,” she said.
On allegations that changes in the Waqf were initiated during the PDP’s tenure, she responded, “Dr. Farooq should also tell us what used to happen in Aquaf when he was CM. How much corruption was there? It was only due to Mufti Sayeed that transparency and accountability were introduced.”
She said the people of J&K are disappointed with the NC-led Government, which, she added, is letting them down. “Whether it’s about security or other policies, NC is silent on every issue.”
Accusing NC of having a tacit understanding with the BJP, Iltija said: “If they were truly against the Speaker, why didn’t they support the no-confidence motion?”
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