Srinagar, 27 July: The J&K People’s Democratic Party [JKPDP] has been rocked by the recent controversial remark made by the former Chief Minister and party President Mehbooba Mufti, allegedly justifying the use of force against civilians in Kashmir.
Mehbooba controversially said that “due to militancy, the use of force is somehow justified in Kashmir. But why would Delhi police use force against peaceful protesters in Delhi?”
Many insiders in the JKPDP and workers and supporters from every nook and cranny told The News Herald they feel “disgruntled” and “disheartened” by the latest remark made by the party President.
“There was no need to go to Jantar Mantar in the first place. And if we did, we didn’t have to say things about Kashmir and end up creating another controversy after the earlier ‘toffee’ and ‘milk’ remark,” said a senior PDP leader, adding “this statement has had a demoralising effect on the party workers”.
The JKPDP leadership is in shambles.
Another senior party leader said “the party had recovered after the 2016 fiasco but now the latest statement has put us on the back foot yet again.”
Some insiders told The News Herald that a party legislator talking about the use of AI further exacerbated the issue and it was akin to insulting the intelligence of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
A long-time party sympathiser questioned Mehbooba Mufti’s leadership style, saying that the setbacks faced by the party have been her creation.
“There should have been no clarifications made, but the rebuttals based on false defence and invoking AI complicated the issue for the party,” he said, adding that the latest controversy won’t die down anytime soon.
However, a sitting MLA told The News Herald that there was no need to panic.
“This too shall pass,” he said confidently.
Will Mehbooba’s remark affect the party electorally?
A former Minister told The News Herald that the next Assembly elections are far and it would be “premature to analyse the possible adverse impact of this remark on party’s electoral performance”.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah launched a scathing attack on Mehbooba Mufti, saying she has hurt sensitivities of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, the J&K People’s Conference led by Sajad Lone took out a protest demonstration against Mehbooba Mufti’s latest statement.
