J&K political prisoners still in jail: Mehbooba Mufti

People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has claimed that over 1,000 people from Jammu and Kashmir are lodged in various jails in the country for opposing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

She told journalists in Srinagar yesterday that those speaking against the BJP, whether they are activists, politicians, or students, they are being jailed in the country. She said that in the light of this it is not surprising that the Hurriyat Conference is also getting the same treatment.

Mehbooba Mufti challenged the Centre’s claim that all the political prisoners in Jammu and Kashmir have been released, stating that many political leaders are still languishing in jails. She said that during the meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June, she had told him the suppression and harassment of the people should be stopped.

She flayed the BJP-led government at the centre, for ‘selling what the Congress had built over 70 years’. “They are selling off, what the Congress had built over the last 70 years. They are selling roads, petrol pumps, airports, railway stations, power projects,” she added.

According to her, though some leaders of the PDP have left the party, the masses are still with the party.