Mufti has accepted Vajpayee was right, Modi is wrong: Congress

Lucknow/Kolkata (Uttar Pradesh/West Bengal), Apr 25 (ANI): The Congress on Tuesday questioned Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's decision of allying with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), if she was not happy in the first place with the manner the party was functioning. Questioning Mufti's comment of adopting former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's policy in regard to Kashmir, the Congress said that by her statement, the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister has herself accepted that Prime Minister Modi's ways are wrong. "Mufti has accepted that Vajpayee's way was right and Modi's is wrong. Why has she allied with them if she finds his way is wrong? I feel that the way of Indira Gandhi, Rajeev Gandhi of taking everyone into confidence is the right one and the present government has deviated from this," Congress leader Pramod Tiwari told ANI. Tiwari also said the situation in the Valley is out of control and that there is no law and order in the state. "Situation in Kashmir is far worse now. The situation there is entirely out of control. The greed of power due to which the BJP-PDP Government formed the government there is the reason that there is no law and order in the state. Such a big leader was killed and the condition is only deteriorating," he said. Echoing same sentiments, another Congress leader Om Prakash said the 'arrogance, apathy and incompetence' of the Central Government and BJP-People's Democratic Party (PDP) in the state is responsible for the deteriorating situation in Kashmir. "It's a grim situation there. In fact, the progressive voices have been sounding caution for quite some time but all these have been met with complete silence on the standpoint of the Central Government and state government. In fact, national interest as well as the national security is under threat. Over the last three decades whatever gains were made on security front, law and order front has been squandered because of the arrogance, apathy and incompetence of the Central Government and the BJP-PDP Government of the state," Prakash told ANI. Prakash further opined that the Central and Jammu and Kashmir Government should admit that they failed in restoring peace in the Valley. "They should admit that they have failed. Unfortunately, the central narrative in Kashmir has turned in favour of separatists and that is a very serious development. The entire country is concerned and I think a lot of positive action is needed," he said. Earlier yesterday, PDP leader Abdul Gani Dar, attacked by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, succumbed to his injuries. The PDP district president of Pulwama was declared dead as soon he was brought to the hospital. This was second attack on PDP leaders in last two weeks. As many as eight people were killed in clashes during the by-election in Anantnag last week. The violence prompted the Election Commission to postpone voting. Last week, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat apprised National Security Advisor Ajit Doval of the security situation in Kashmir. Rawat's meeting with Doval on April 16 came a day after he had separate deliberations with Chief Minister Mufti and Governor N.N. Vohra over the law and order situation in Kashmir during his visit to the state. As many as 411 stone-pelting incidents have been reported in the Kashmir Valley from October 2016 to March 2017. Hundreds of civilians and security men have been injured in clashes in the region. (ANI)