Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) President, Mehbooba Mufti, and other Jammu and Kashmir leaders were put under house arrest on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 on Saturday.
Mufti questioned the Centre’s claims of normalcy in the union territory and claimed that she has been put under house arrest.
On this day in 2019, the Centre abrogated Article 370, removed the special status and downgraded the state into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The PDP sought permission to hold a seminar on the occasion, but the administration denied it, media reports said.
“I’ve been put under house arrest along with other senior PDP leaders today. This comes after a midnight crackdown where scores of my party men are illegally detained in police stations. GOIs false claims about normalcy to the SC stands exposed by theirs actions driven by paranoia,” Mufti tweeted.
“On one hand, giant hoardings calling upon Kashmiris to ‘celebrate’ the illegal abrogation of Article 370 have been put up across Srinagar. Whereas brute force is being used to choke the actual sentiment of the people. Hope the Hon’ble SC takes cognisance of these developments at a time when Article 370 has come up for hearing,” she said in another tweet.
On Friday, Mufti claimed that leaders of her party were being detained ahead of the fourth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, according to media reports.
“Why is @JmuKmrPolice detaining PDP leaders on the eve of 5th August? Arif Laigroo has been taken by the police in this video,” Mehbooba said in another tweet as she posted the video which purportedly shows a PDP leader being taken away in a police vehicle.
The PDP had sought permission to hold a seminar or discussion with the general public on Saturday. It earlier said it had invited like-minded parties from Kashmir for the programme that was to be held at the Sher-e-Kashmir Park near the PDP headquarters in Srinagar.
“Our representative was told around 5 PM on 4th August 2023 that permission has been declined without assigning any reason,” The Hindustan Times reported quoting a PDP spokesman.
He said while the PDP was denied permission, a request by the BJP to hold an event at Jawahar Nagar Park and later a rally from Nehru Park to the SKICC to “celebrate” the abrogation of the two Articles has been allowed.
“The dual and dubious approach of the administration is strongly condemned by us and this repeatedly vindicates our stand that the administration and the country both are run not as per rules or Constitution, but by the political agenda set by BJP,” the spokesman was quoted as saying.
In a separate tweet, Mufti said the BJP government has given a free run to carry out the “tamasha” of celebrating the “illegal” abrogation of Article 370, and all this is being done to “hoodwink” the public opinion in the country.
