SRINAGAR: A day after BJP president Amit Shah accused Mehbooba Mufti of failing to maintain peace in the state during the three-year PDP-BJP rule, the former chief minister on Sunday hit out at him saying release of stone pelters and the unilateral ceasefire during Ramzan was endorsed by his party.
In a series of tweets, Mehbooba took on Amit Shah saying, "Many false charges are levelled against us by our former allies. Our commitment to the Agenda of Alliance (AoA), co-authored by Ram Madhav and endorsed by senior BJP leaders like Rajnath never wavered. It is sad to see them disown their own initiative and label it a soft approach."
Addressing a rally in Jammu on Saturday, Shah had attacked Mehbooba saying she had failed to maintain peace. He had also accused her of discrimination against Jammu and Ladakh regions.
In a strongly worded response, Mehbooba said, "Status quo on Article 370, dialogue with Pakistan and Hurriyat were part of AoA. Encouraging dialogue, withdrawing cases against stone pelters and the unilateral ceasefire were much needed measures to restore confidence on the ground and this was recognized and endorsed by BJP."
Mehbooba's PDP had demanded continuation of the Ramzan ceasefire and had also pitched for dialogue with the separatists. However, the BJP on June 19 withdrew support to the government citing deterioration in law and order.
On charges of discrimination levelled by Shah, she said, "Allegations of discrimination against Jammu and Ladakh have no basis in reality. Yes, the Valley has been in turmoil for a long time and the floods of 2014 were a setback, therefore needed focused attention. But that does not mean that there was any less development elsewhere."
Advising the BJP to review the performance of its own ministers, Mehbooba said, "Results on the ground are for all to see. If anything they should review the performance of their own ministers, who largely represented the Jammu region. If there were any such concerns, none among them either at state or central level talked about it during the last 3 years."
Of the 25 ministers in the PDP-BJP coalition government that ended on June 19, PDP had 14, including the CM, while BJP had 11, including separatist-turned-mainstream politician Sajjad Lone.
Referring to the rape and murder of eight-year-old nomad girl in Kathua in January this year, Mehbooba said, "Not handing over the rape and murder case to CBI, getting the pro-rapist ministers removed and also issuing orders not to harass the Gujjar and Bakarwal community in the guise of anti-encroachment drives were my duties as CM to provide a sense of security to both communities."
This was Mehbooba's first sharp attack on the BJP after the collapse of their coalition government.