Mehbooba, in her first public appearance after resigning as Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, said any attempt by the Centre to “engineer” a split in her party will have “extremely dangerous” consequences.
“My party is strong, there are differences which can be resolved. However, if there are any attempts to engineer a split in the Peoples Democratic Party like it was done in 1987 to commit robbery on people’s vote and to crush the Muslim United Front, the results will be extremely dangerous,” she told reporters here.
Mehbooba also recalled that the events post the 1987 assembly elections had “created” Syed Salahuddin, the supremo of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen, and Mohammad Yasin Malik, the pro-Independence Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front chief.
However, her comments were not welcomed as five rebel PDP legislators on Friday accused Mufti of putting them and their families at risk by claiming that the internal rumblings in the party done at the behest of Delhi.
The rebels also said that they consider the “accession of Jammu and Kashmir with India as final.”
“One she (Mehbooba) has tried to give an impression that the institution is up for sale that anyone can buy them. Second, she has tried to label us that we are dancing to someone’s tunes. This is like putting us before the lynch mob, this can put our families and workers at risk,” MLA Baramulla Javaid Hassan Beg told reporters.
Beg was accompanied by MLA Pattan Imran Ansari, MLA Noorabad Abdul Majid Padder and two MLCs at the press conference.
Ansari’s uncle -- MLA Zadibal Abid Ansari -- and MLA Tangmarg Abbas Wani are the other two PDP legislators who have openly rebelled against the leadership of Mehbooba Mufti.
Beg said they condemn Mehbooba’s statement in which she claimed that any attempt to break the PDP would lead to 1987-like situation and have dangerous consequences.
“Does she think that the MLAs would commit a sellout of the nation? She has created a situation as if we are separatists and our supporters and voters are like Hurriyat or militants. There is nothing like that. We consider the accession of Jammu and Kashmir with India as final,” he said.
Ansari said the rebels have woken up to the reality and want to fight the “two-family rule” in Jammu and Kashmir.
“We don’t believe in two family rule. These two families (Abdullahs and Muftis) have always believed that they are indispensable,” he said.
The rebels emphasised that they were still part of the PDP and were making efforts to set the house in order but they had no faith in the leadership of Mehbooba.
Asked about the future course of action, they said they would think about it if their demands are not considered.
“We have categorically said that we do not have any faith in Mehbooba Mufti’s leadership,” Ansari said.
Asked if the demands of rebels also included that Mehbooba step down as the party president, the MLA Pattan said the “writing is clearly on the wall”.
The rebels rubbished any suggestion that the rebellion with the PDP had anything to do with government formation with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Mehbooba resigned as chief minister on June 19 after the BJP pulled out of the coalition with the PDP in the state and withdrew support to her government.
