Apparently discontented at a question, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti abruptly ended the press conference she was addressing with Union home minister Rajnath Singh here on Thursday.
Apparently discontented at a question, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti abruptly ended the press conference she was addressing with Union home minister Rajnath Singh here on Thursday.
She stood up while Mr Singh was still seated and was coolly and calmly replying to the barrage of questions from the reporters. He was smiling and, in fact, tried to pacify the chief minister and then reluctantly stoop up as Ms Mufti was already on her feet and while leaving, invited the journalists to have tea but in som-ewhat disrespectful way. Her behaviour shocked the invitees to the press meet and all left without having refreshment which had been made available at the venue.
Ms Mufti was rattled apparently when the Indian Express deputy editor Muzamil Jaleel asked her she is being openly accused of swapping roles and views with her predecessor Omar Abdullah on the protests. In summer 2010, about 120 protesters were killed in security forces’ action in Kashmir and Ms Mufti who was then in the Oppo-sition had harshly criticised CM Abdullah for killing and maiming people for asking for their “political rights”.
She retorted, “Let me correct it first, Muzamil. I’ve not said this. I said 95 per cent people want peaceful resolution to it. That means there is a political problem. But there is 5 percent population that has hijacked it by resorting to violence and pushed it off the track. Because nowhere in the world is space for the violence. If you have to get a bad name to an issue, you resort to violence and nobody will listen to you.” She also asked the journalist not to mix or compare the two situations.
“In 2010 there was a fake encounter in which three people were killed at Macheal (near LoC). Today three militants were killed, how is the government to be blamed Haven’t militants been killed in encounters before ” She said, “People came out on the roads and we imposed curfew restrictions. The kid that went to the Army camp had not gone there for a toffee. The 15-year-old boy in Damhal Hanjipora had not gone to the police station for fetching milk. You’re mixing the two things”.
She said that the youth on the streets are being misused for their “illegitimate objectives” by those who are dragging the stir. “I’m supportive of Kashmir issue and I want its resolution. There should be dialogue. But by attacking camps with stones will not solve anything...This issue is between them and me, me Mehbooba Mufti. I will face them”.
Soon after the press conference many people too to social networking sites to accuse the Chief Minister of being “arrogant” and “inexperienced.” The editor of a leading Srinagar newspaper wrote on Facebook “And nobody had tea....”
