The BJP is supporting a party which received Hawala money pumped in from Pakistan to fund militancy in Kashmir, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said on May 22, in a veiled attack on Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari.
Bukhari, a former PDP leader, was expelled from the party in January 2019. His Apni Party has fielded Zafar Iqbal Khan Manhas from the Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency against Ms. Mehbooba and National Conference leader Mian Altaf.
The seat goes to polls on May 25 in the sixth round of the seven-phase general elections.
"The attack on tourists in Pahalgam (on Saturday night that left a tourist couple from Rajasthan injured) should be investigated with a focus on the role of a party which received Hawala money in large quantities from Pakistan to fund militancy," the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) president told reporters in Poonch district.
Funding militants
"I do not wish to name anyone but if you inquire, you will come to know who is behind funding of militants and (separatist) leaders. The connections are still intact, and they will use those connections to do anything to ensure low polling in Kashmir," she said.
Ms. Mehbooba was apparently referring to Bukhari, a former Minister in the 2015-18 PDP-BJP alliance government in Jammu and Kashmir. He won the 2014 Assembly elections on a PDP ticket and later formed the Apni Party with 31 former MLAs, mostly from the PDP, in March 2020.
"I am surprised that the BJP, which claims to be nationalist, is supporting a party involved in Hawala funding and has a direct role in bloodshed. The money pushed from Pakistan for militancy was also used to set up a business," Ms. Mehbooba alleged.
Voter coercion
She also alleged that voters, particularly religious leaders and government employees, are being "harassed". The central government should not fail the youth who are enthusiastically turning up to vote instead of using stones or guns, Ms. Mehbooba said.
"Employees are being threatened that their promotions will be stopped and they will be transferred if they do not vote for a particular candidate which I believe is interference in the elections. The Waqf board (headed by BJP leader Darakhshan Andrabi) is being used to intimidate religious leaders," she claimed.
Ms. Mehbooba said she hopes that "The Prime Minister will intervene to ensure that no trickery is allowed to vitiate the atmosphere on the polling day (May 25)."
The PDP chief said she will raise people’s issues, including construction of a tunnel along the Mughal road, a government medical college in Poonch, and promotion of tourism
Published - May 22, 2024 10:52 pm IST
