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| Edited By: Ishfaq-ul-Hassan |Source: DNA |Updated: Mar 13, 2019, 05:40 AM IST
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti, 59, created history when she became the first women chief minister of Muslim Majority Jammu and Kashmir in 2016. But her journey was not smooth. From post Burhan Wani killing unrest to Kathua rape and murder, she had to face many upheavals before BJP pulled out of her government in June last year. In a chat with DNA, she discussed issues, hits and misses in detail.
Excerpts:
It is very surprising. What can be the reason for not holding the assembly polls when the general elections are being held. I am also apprehensive that this may be a plan of something like the amendments being made and certain decisions being taken which are not in the interests of the state. I feel there is a design to delay the Assembly polls and deny people elected government. It is not good thing.
There is holy fasting month of Ramzan and Amarnath Yatra. It will stretch beyond September. Denying people their elected government is not something desirable. People have so many problems and they need their representatives to address their day to day problems.
It was very unfortunate thing that happened. I have said this several times that had I known Burhan Wani was present in that encounter I would not have allowed them to kill him. I knew that he was popular on social media and he was not involved in any encounter and he had not killed anyone. So even as chief minister I had given orders in unified command that local militants should be given a chance to come back.
I have never seen army camps being attacked that way. I have never seen so many police stations being burnt down. It seemed it was a pre-planned and they just wanted an opportunity to do something and they did that. I do not think we could have done much to stop at that point of time.
Chief Minister does not know who is going to be killed. Few days ago there was an encounter in Tral, did they tell governor who is inside? It was not a fake encounter. It was an encounter.
We are living in a democracy. When it comes to the interest of the state we stand together. Even today, I and Omar Sahab (Omar Abdullah) are in touch. Recently, after the Pulwama attack when Kashmiri students across the nation were being attacked we made a joint appeal. Similarly, when there was Article 35 A issue and I was the chief minister, I went to see Farooq Sahab (Farooq Abdullah) and Omar Sahab and talked to them. We tried to have some kind of joint response to it. When it comes to the interest of the state at that point of time we are trying to get together and also to be seen together. As far as politics is concerned, we have our own politics.
There is confusion. We boycotted because in the court the government counsel said the hearing needs to be postponed till the panchayat and municipality polls are over. That sent a message not only to us but people in general that something bad may happen: Once the elections are over then there may be some decision that may be negative for Article 35 A. That is why we were opposing connecting panchayat and municipality polls. They were connecting the two things. It was the government that linked the two varied issues.
We were seeing that New Delhi is trying to take certain decisions through the governor which are not in the interest of the state, like converting J&K bank into PSU, handing rattle power project and many other things. They were trying to take decisions which only popular government should have taken. We thought to stop this barrage of anti-J&K decisions. We need to get together and at least provide some kind of government for sometime till we hold elections. That was one of the reasons for us to get together in the interest of the state.
I do not want to comment because it is a hypothetical question.
It is out of question. Mufti Sahab had joined hands with BJP by putting everything at stake including his own credibility and credibility of the party for two reasons. First and foremost was resolution of Kashmir issue where Vajpayee had left the political process both internal and external. On internal level the dialogue with separatist and on external level talks with Pakistan. He had this hope that where Vajpayee left Modi is going to take over and we will be able to take Jammu and Kashmir out of the mess. Second was that BJP got 25 seats in Jammu, which has a mixed population: To stop BJP from fishing in troubled waters, raising communal tensions in Jammu province and keep them in check in many things including Article 370. You see after the fall of government there are so many problems we are facing. It was for that purpose that my father had joined hands with BJP to keep them in check and also to persuade them to take up where Vajpayee had left.
That was the three months period when I wanted them to do certain things before I join hands with them. But unfortunately some of my own colleagues wanted to break the party and went ahead and talked to BJP. They told BJP that you need not to renegotiate with her and they are ready to join hands. And I did not bother who becomes chief minister but I was really concerned if they break my party and join hand with BJP and they may have put everything at stake.
If they had formed government with BJP they could have done many things which would have been against the interests of the state. The whole blame would have come to me that it was she who allowed it to happen. If a person is ready to break the party just for the sake of power, he could sell anything. He could do anything at the behest of the BJP. Because they would have said they are not bothered about agenda of alliance and they are ready to form the government.
It is not a very good thing that happened. I am fortunate enough to see my basic workers on ground have not left the party. They are where they were. People come and people go. It is part of politics. So people keep on changing parties especially when you lose power before elections. It is a part of political and democratic process. Silver lining is that my grassroots workers are still with the party.
Pellet guns were introduced in 2010 or 2011. They were seen as lesser evil. In 2010, 120 people died because of the guns and it was thought that we need some kind of crowd control measure, less harmful and less injurious. Unfortunately what happened in 2016 that the protests were so intense and protesters wanted to go nearer to the target to attack. If pellet is fired from a close range it is as fatal as gun. As soon as I heard about Burhan Wani's killing, I talked to all security heads and told them to be careful and people will be angry and take care of things. Don't lose your control and don't shoot? But the way people attacked army camps, army does not have pellet guns. Whatever happened was unfortunate which I had never anticipated.
As I said earlier, it was not a fake encounter that called for the reaction the way people did. In 2009-10 there was fake encounter at Machil and people came on roads. Later another boy was killed and people came took on the roads. Then there were allegations of Shopian rape and murder and people came on roads. This time there was nothing of that sort to ignite that kind of anger. It was not a fake encounter where people should have been angry. It was just any other encounter.
Was it a fake encounter? People should get angry when there is fake encounter or when some innocent civilians caught in the encounter. It was just an encounter. Unless and until there were some people who had plans that if given a chance they would try to exploit it to their liking and create havoc the way they did. It was pre-planned thing.
There was a conspiracy. There was a planning that given a chance they would like to make situation so intense and out of control.
Only after two months of coming to power, Burhan Wani encounter happened and my whole attention was focused on restoring law and order. I did not get single day of relief. There were stone pelting and attacks. During the month of Ramzan when I was able to persuade centre for a ceasefire, even then the attacks from the terrorists did not stop. And Shujaat Bukhari was one victim and Aurganzeb became another victim.
The reason was that I was not toeing their line. I was toeing my own line. Withdrawing FIR against 12000 boys, asking for ceasefire, asking BJP to drop two ministers from the cabinet (for joining pro Kathua rape and murder accused rally), registering FIR against army. So many things I was doing which was not suiting their agenda. Threatening them to pull out if you are going to fiddle with article 35 A. This is what I told the home minister and prime minister that we can't go together. I was going with my agenda. They wanted me to crackdown on Jamaat-e-Islami, I refused. They wanted NIA raids on Hurriyat leaders Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani at that point of time, but I refused. So I was doing what I was doing and talking less about it. I did not want to put them in an embarrassing position. That is why they pulled out and I was expecting them to run away because of 2019 election.
2009 is the time when NIA Act was extended to Jammu and Kashmir. It was done in Congress-National Conference regime not in my regime. After that they have these powers. They can come and take anybody. But I tried my best to see that that they do not go beyond a point.
Food security is what we need. You can't stay out of GST because it is related to finances. You have to be part of it.
There is a difference. That was done by assembly and this was done by governor. So many laws have been extended to Jammu and Kashmir which are the beneficial to the people. For instance the food security. We introduced Mufti Mohammad Sayeed food scheme and under which we provide rice at Rs three per kilo which is good for the people. There are certain laws which you need to implement here. Like we need to have a law for tribal. We do not have it. They are being harassed and pushed out from each and every place. And we need to have law for them also. If assembly tomorrow makes law which is identical to central law, that is not bad.
That was also a factor. Because the stance we took and they had to drop two ministers, was not taken well by them.
I was wary about CBI. We had seen what happened to Shopian rape and murder case. And that did not go well with them as well.
Time will tell. We are the largest group even now. It is PDP agenda which is more relevant today in this situation. It is going to bounce back with much more force than it was.
We have not taken any such decisions so far. We have not discussed it so far.
An interlocutor of cabinet secretary rank was appointed. Then home minister said so many times that they are ready for dialogue. But unfortunately your confrontationist attitude towards Pakistan has an indirect impact in J&K. Both the sides need to have reconciliatory relations with Pakistan and then we can have dialogue here. Otherwise having a confrontation on one side and expecting dialogue will take place, it is not going to be realistic.
Home Minister never said anything about constitution. He said they are ready for talks. Since we did not have friendly relations with Pakistan, that has an impact on J&K and that is why nobody was ready for dialogue. Vajpayee JI had talked with both Pakistan and separatists
PDP's basic declaration is that we need to have a dialogue with Pakistan and Hurriyat. Jammu and Kashmir has to become a bridge for that. When we entered into Congress, same thing was there. When we entered with alliance with BJP, same thing was there. I am not talking of something new. Government was based on that declaration that there has be to dialogue with Pakistan and Hurriyat.
Eighty percent of self rule was part of agenda of alliance. Revocations of AFSPA, withdrawing troops from civilian areas, status quo on Article 370, opening cross border routes, transfer of power projects. Only one point which was missing in the agenda of alliance was that we need to have an advisory committee of representatives this side and that side without changing the borders to have a sense of unification.
I can't say people were happy. People were not happy about it. It was done with a purpose. Mufti Sahab had said give me 40 seats I want to do something for the resolution of Kashmir issue. People gave us 28 seats. They gave BJP 25 seats.
We will try our best.
They are trying to do that. Each and everywhere they are attacking our party. They think this is the main challenge in this sense that we have an agenda and we did not cow down. We stand our ground and that is why they are withdrawing security of our people besides Hurriyat. Our youth president is on threat list and his security has been withdrawn and many many people. That is what they are trying to do
