NEW DELHI: A day after BJP leaders, including president
Amit Shah, held former political partner, PDP, responsible for the breakup of the alliance in J&K, former chief minister
Mehbooba Mufti launched a counter-attack on the saffron party accusing it of "disowning" its own narrative by calling it a "soft approach".
"Many false charges levelled against us by our former allies. Our commitment to the Agenda of Alliance (AoA), co-authored by Ram Madhav and endorsed by senior leaders like Rajnath Ji never wavered. It is sad to see them disown their own initiative and label it a 'soft approach'," Mufti said in one of the six tweets directed at her former political partner.
The tweets were in response to BJP leaders holding the PDP accountable for the failure of the alliance. On June 19, BJP, in a surprise decision, announced that it will no longer be a part of the alliance leading to the fall of the government in the state.
The 'soft approach' accusations were levelled by the former minister and BJP leader Choudhary Lal Singh. "If terrorism recorded a growth it was because of the soft approach she adopted," Singh had alleged.
He accused Mehbooba Mufti of being "pro-separatist" and said she started her political career by shedding tears, a reference to her visits to meet families of slain soldiers.
A miffed Mufti refuted Singh's allegations. The "soft approach" was "much needed" measure to restore confidence on the ground, she maintained, something which was ratified by the BJP itself.
On Singh's allegations of preferential treatment of Valley, Mufti acknowledged that Jammu and Ladakh regions may not have received the same treatment as the Valley, but "it was due to the 2014 floods and the turmoil in the region."
She also touched upon the issue of Rasana (Kathua) rape and murder case and said that it was her efforts which helped in safeguarding the interest of the Gujjar and
bakarwal community and getting the pro-rapist ministers sacked. She further added that not getting the case transferred to CBI was also a result of her efforts.
Mufti also seemed peeved with one of the BJP leaders threatening journalists by reminding them of the fate of slain journalist Shujaat Bukhari.
"After expressing concern about freedom of expression in J&K following Shujaat (Bukhari)'s murder, their MLA, notorious..., still threatens journalists belonging to the valley. So what are they going to do about him?"
Yesterday, Shah had said his party walked out of the coalition government in the state as the PDP failed to deliver.
Calling the accusations against her party "false", Mufti listed the initiatives both the parties had agreed as part of the AoA, formulated as part of their alliance in the state.
"Status quo on Article 370, dialogue with Pakistan and Hurriyat were a part of AoA. Encouraging dialogue, withdrawing cases against stonepelters and the unilateral ceasefire were much needed measures to restore confidence on the ground. This was recognized and endorsed by BJP," she tweeted.
