People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti has said reserving at least two assembly seats for Kashmiri Pandits would have certainly boosted confidence among the migrant Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley.
“The biggest confidence-building measure for the return of Kashmir Pandits would have been reserving two assembly seats for them in the Valley,” she said, and added that it might have also “reignited the centuries-old brotherly relations” between the Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims.
Accusing the central government of turning popular tourist destinations into militarised zones, Mufti said the annual Amarnath Yatra too has been militarised so much that no one is allowed to come close to the pilgrims.
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“If you look at Kashmir, there are so many places for tourists. Amarnath Yatra, which we used to wait for and when we would talk to the saints to feel good, has also been militarised.
Even flies cannot go there. What are you doing with Jammu and Kashmir? You are destroying this region,” she said.
The PDP chief went on to allege that the hydroelectric power projects in the Valley are of “no benefit” to the stakeholders and therefore need no review.
“That is benefiting the rest of the country. It's important that the central government should compensate J&K financially for these and provide free electricity to the poor residents,” she added.
“The National Conference government talks about politically suitable issues, like statehood. However, they will not talk about the real issues like electricity, water, and unemployment,” Mufti said.
Drawing a parallel between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Prime Minister, the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Mufti said she will not hesitate to praise PM Modi “if he took decisions like Vajpayee did, who had opened cross-border roads when the NDA was in power and had initiated talks in an effort to resolve the Kashmir problem”.
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