Srinagar: Brother of Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti and state’s tourism minister Tassaduq Mufti in an interview said, “The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has become a ‘partner in crime’ with ruling BJP, and the gradual schism of state’s residents may lead to unprecedented bloodshed.”
In the interview The Indian Express published on Friday, Mufti said he would not keep quiet just because he was in the government. The PDP will have to “take one last bow and apologise to people for having unknowingly pushed them into something they did not deserve”, said the tourism minister.
He said the current issue is being under control. “We were supposed to be partners in the rebuilding of this place, but sad to admit this, due to the non-fulfilling of commitments, we have ended up being partners in a crime that an entire generation of Kashmiris might have to pay with their blood.”
The divisive politics over the rape and murder of a minor in Kathua district has “pushed the state to a new low and brought shame to all of us. It would be a ‘sin’ to stay quiet in a situation when every day is a day of mourning and a child’s rape gets support in the name of religion,” Mufti said.
Hinting at the violence it may lead, Mufti also called the anger among youngsters ‘an alert sign’. “I am not going to keep quiet and act as if I am unmoved by the tragedy that is unfolding at ground level, just because I am part of the government,” he said.
“All lives matter. Lives of the people on both sides of the ideological divide. And this is a government for the people and I see nothing wrong in standing with the people to find a solution to the ongoing crisis,” he added.