SRINAGAR: Terming it as a ‘political vendetta to settle political score, the parties in the Valley have slammed attachment of properties of Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) chairman and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah by Enforcement Directorate (ED).
“Attaching Farooq Abdullah’s properties is sheer political vendetta as was evident from the abuses heaped on PAGD by the BJP. People of J&K were least impressed & placed their faith in the alliance,” PDP chief and PAGD vice president Mehbooba Mufti tweeted. She alleged that using agencies like the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the ED to settle scores shows BJPs frustration.
The ED on Saturday attached residential and commercial properties worth nearly Rs 12 crore of former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah in an ongoing case of alleged money laundering, drawing strong reaction from National Conference (NC) which said these properties were ‘largely ancestral’ and he would challenge the action in a court.
Among the properties attached is a house on Gupkar Road where the 84-year-old leader has been residing for several decades. The house is said to have been built in the 1970s by his father late Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, which was inherited by Farooq.
According to Abdullah’s son and former J&K CM Omar Abdullah, “There can be no justification for the seizures because they fail the very basic test of having been acquired as the proceeds of the ‘crime’ being investigated.”
The PAGD convenor and CPI (M) state secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said, “The present case has surfaced at a time when the DDC polls have just concluded.”