JAMMU — Former chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday called for united efforts by the government and opposition to restore the strength and dignity of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
Mufti made the remark after watching the Assembly proceedings from the speaker’s gallery, her first appearance in the House after the fall of her BJP-supported government in 2018.
The PDP chief remained present for some time during the Question Hour. Her four party MLAs were present, and one of them, Rafiq Ahmad Naik, lauded Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for a “satisfactory and detailed” reply to a question related to tourism in the Union territory.
“Today I visited the Assembly and felt good. It especially reminded me of my father (Mufti Mohd Sayeed)…our Assembly is a very important institution. However, its value and authority have, in one way or another, been diminished since 2019,” Mufti said, referring to the year when the Centre revoked the special status of J&K and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two UTs.
Emphasising that her party would support the efforts to rebuild the institution gradually, she said, “The PDP will certainly play its role, but the ruling party (NC) also has a major responsibility…I firmly believe that through collective efforts of both the government and the opposition, the lost strength of the J&K Assembly can be restored.”
She also said the PDP has introduced several bills in the House which do not necessarily require statehood, as they can be passed “within the existing Union framework,” referring to bills like the creation of new divisions and districts and granting ownership rights to poor people living on small pieces of land for many years.
The PDP president referred to the poll promises of the National Conference and said it is the government’s responsibility to fulfil its promises, especially regarding employment, reservation and regularisation.
“During our tenure, we had addressed this issue (dailywagers) to some extent. The government should revisit and study the framework we had introduced at that time. The condition of daily wage workers is extremely poor…they are struggling to make ends meet,” she said, demanding that the issue should be treated as a humanitarian issue, not a political one.
On the West Asia crisis, Mufti said Iran is fighting with a spirit of sacrifice, and their soldiers are prepared to lay down their lives.
“On the other hand, it is being said that soldiers from countries like the United States and Israel are reluctant to fight…Therefore, I believe that Iran will emerge victorious,” she said. — (PTI)