Congress chief Gulam Ahmed Mir said, “The situation had not been worst in Kashmir post 1947.” (File)
Condemning the attack by stone-pelters on a school bus in Shopian, Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Gulam Ahmed Mir on Wednesday blamed the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for deteriorating law and order in the state and claimed that the situation in the Valley is “all time worst since 1947″.
On Wednesday, a school bus was attacked by protesters in Shopian while the district was observing a shutdown against the killing of two militants, including a commander Sameer Tiger, and a civilian in an encounter at Drabgam in neighbouring Pulwama district.
A class 2 student suffered a head injury in the incident that took place this morning in militant-infested Shopian district of south Kashmir. The bus was carrying close to 35 students, a PTI report said.
“The situation in Kashmir is all time worst as this government and the Centre was not able to tackle it rightly. Militancy was there for the past three decades but the previous governments managed to deliver, run the schools, carried forward the developmental work,” Mir told reporters at the party headquarters. He said, “the situation had not been worst in Kashmir post 1947.”
Apart from the school bus attack, a petrol bomb was also thrown at PDP MLA Mohammad Yousuf Bhat’s residence at Memender area in the district on Wednesday. However, no one was injured in the attack.
“Besides the bloodshed, the democracy has also suffered under this government. The by-elections were cancelled one day before polling (Lok Sabha polls in Anantnag parliamentary constituency in south Kashmir last year). The government first announced holding of Panchayat and local bodies elections, then decided against it,” he said.
On the Congress’ stand on amnesty given to first time stone-pelters, Mir said the party “follows the law of the land, the constitution and will not endorse anything which is wrong. A wrong is a wrong.”
He said the party is ready for mid-term elections. “We believe in democratic exercise and are not the one who tries to escape from it”. On PDP-BJP rule, the JKPCC chief alleged that the coalition has wasted the previous three years. He said the present ruling faction is claiming credit for projects started by previous UPA governments.
Mir also targeted the state government on recent cabinet reshuffle, saying it was not a routine exercise. The Congress leader, however, welcomed the return of Kashmiri pandits to the Valley, saying nobody is against it.
With inputs from PTI