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JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Provincial President, Jammu, Rattan Lal Gupta, on Thursday launched a scathing attack on PDP President Mehbooba Mufti for accusing the National Conference of normalising the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A, saying the remarks were a desperate bid to stay politically relevant by peddling falsehoods.
Gupta said it was astonishing that the very party which "rolled out the red carpet for the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir" was now pretending to be the custodian of the region's constitutional identity. "The PDP has no moral, political or ideological authority to lecture the National Conference on Articles 370 and 35-A. It was the PDP that legitimised the BJP's entry into the corridors of power in Jammu and Kashmir and paved the way for everything that followed," he said.
He said the people have not forgotten how Mehbooba Mufti chose power over principles and remained glued to office despite repeated humiliation at the hands of the BJP leadership. "The PDP willingly facilitated the extension of central laws such as the SARFAESI Act, GST and the National Food Security Act, steadily eroding Jammu and Kashmir's special status long before August 5, 2019. Even after the unconstitutional abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A, PDP MPs supported the BJP on several key legislations in Parliament. Their political understanding with the BJP has never truly ended; only its form has changed," Gupta said.
He called out the PDP of consistently sabotaging every sincere attempt to forge unity among regional and democratic forces. "Whenever the National Conference calls for a united struggle to restore the rights of the people, the PDP conveniently finds excuses to stay away because it does not want to upset its political mentors in Nagpur and Jhandewalan. The PDP and other 'A, B and C teams' of the BJP survive on creating confusion, dividing public opinion and weakening the collective voice of Jammu and Kashmir. The people, however, have seen through this deceit and will no longer be misled."
Rejecting Mehbooba Mufti's allegations, Gupta said the National Conference has neither surrendered nor compromised on Jammu and Kashmir's constitutional rights. "Unlike the PDP, we do not indulge in theatrics or political hypocrisy. We are pursuing a constitutional, democratic and sustained struggle to reclaim every right that has been taken away. Restoration of statehood is not the destination but the first decisive step towards restoring Articles 370, 35-A and the constitutional autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir. Our commitment is to the people, not to political opportunism," he added.
