By IANS,
Srinagar : Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti stood her ground Sunday and turned down Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s request to attend Monday’s all-party meeting called by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over the violence in Jammu and Kashmir.
“It was very kind of the prime minister to call me. I have deep regard for the PM. He advised us to attend the meeting. But it was painful to convey my inability to attend the meeting,” Mehbooba told reporters, a day after Manmohan Singh called her urging her to reconsider her refusal to attend the meeting.
“I was really touched by his concern. He has always showered great love and affection on me.”
She said the situation in the Kashmir Valley was “so bad that nothing at the level of the state government, that has been discredited, will help… unless there is a bigger initiative which will be taken seriously by the people who are caught in a prison like situation”.
“I told the PM to excuse us. But we are looking forward to a bigger initiative from him,” she said, but didn’t elaborate.
“I told the prime minister that we needed to reach out to the people. The prime minister has the stature and the authority to take the initiative since the chief minister has admitted to have lost credibility among the people.”
The PDP chief said Home Minister P. Chidambaram had also called her but added that the meeting called by Abdullah was a “damage control exercise” aimed to hoodwink the international community.
“Mr. Chidambaram also called me and I have praise for him. The chief minister is now on a damage control process of his image…he is not bothered about the situation on the ground,” Mehbooba said.
She alleged that the Omar Abdullah government was trying to hide its “failures” by convening such a meeting after taking all the decisions that “he shouldn’t have taken”.
“They have used excessive force to suppress the anger. And he projects himself like the only nationalist (in Kashmir).”
“I have requested the prime minister to intervene and put forward four points,” she said, adding media curbs in the Kashmir Valley should be lifted, the army should be recalled and the crackdown launched by the state government should be put to an end.
Mehbooba also claimed that after the killing of teenager Tufail Mattoo here June 11, 15 youths had been killed in firing. “The government action was objected to by the PDP. The government here lived in its world of make believe until the present situation.
“The prime minister has to intervene at his level and then only people will respond. He has the credibility among the people here and I am sure the people would listen to him”, the PDP president said.
Mehbooba then compared Abdullah to former US president George W. Bush.
“On the one hand, the chief minister has invited me to attend the all-party meeting and on the other, he has been giving me an ultimatum through TV channels like George Bush, saying if I attend the meeting then I was part of the solution and if didn’t, I was part of the problem. Nothing is going to come out of this meeting,” she said.