PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti claimed on Monday that the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), led by jailed engineer Sheikh Abdul Rashid, is a proxy of the BJP. She warned the people of Jammu and Kashmir not to be misled by the propaganda of such parties.
Her comments came a day after a PDP candidate from Shopian, south Kashmir, was injured in an alleged attack by AIP workers.
A scuffle between the workers of the two parties on Sunday in Shopian resulted in several injuries.
Mehbooba alleged, “Our candidate was on his way to his constituency when AIP workers assaulted him. Our candidate, Yawar Banday, was beaten severely, suffering broken ribs, and is now in a serious condition.”
She questioned how the AIP, with its leader behind bars, could organise resources and candidates. “I want to know how Rashid’s organisation is functioning and fielding candidates everywhere while he is in jail. (PDP founder) Mufti Mohammad Sayeed took 50 years to build our party, and we still struggle with resources. Who is funding Rashid’s party, and why are they so bold in their actions?” she added.
The former chief minister alleged that the government is propping up new proxy parties like the AIP. “I want to ask the government if Engineer Rashid’s party is a new proxy, especially when all your previous proxies have failed. Are you fully supporting them with funds and resources, and are you signalling that other parties should not contest elections?”
When questioned about a recent statement by Vikar Rasool Wani, former president of the J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC), accusing the NC of having “sucked the blood” of the people, Mehbooba criticised the alliance as being based on power rather than principles.
She also accused the NC of rigging the 1987 elections and turning J&K into a “pool of blood,” alleging that the NC is even fielding independent candidates against their alliance partners in Kashmir to further their agenda.
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