Srinagar, Feb 17 Syed Altaf Bukhari, former minister and the president of Apni Party, on Wednesday took strong exception to former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's statement in which she said that restoration of statehood for J&K is not her party's demand.
Lashing out at Mufti's statement made on Tuesday at a party workers' meeting in Kupwara saying that restoration of statehood for J&K is not the demand of her party which would not accept anything short of restoration of Articles 370 and 35A, Bukhari said, "How can you get 370 back unless statehood is restored?"
Visibly perturbed, Bukhari said Mufti is opposing the restoration of statehood at the behest of the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD).
"What drama is she playing? She calls others the 'B team' of the BJP but her statement clearly shows that she wants to become the 'A team' for the party in power at the Centre.
"I wonder whether you deserved the respect we gave you at one point of time," Bukhari said, adding that one of her party leaders is an expert in narrating 'Ram Katha'.
"Should we continue the suffering of the people by telling them Ram Katha," Bukhari asked.
It must be recalled that the Apni Party headed by Bukhari has been pressing for restoration of statehood for J&K, asserting that the party demands achievable things and does not believe in sustaining people on a diet of empty promises.
"We never said we don't want Article 370 back. But, who will give us that since the matter is pending in the highest court of the country. Would street statements get us back Article 370? For god's sake, let us not deceive the common man by promising him what is beyond our capacity at the moment. Can't we make a beginning with what can be achieveda," Bukhari asked.
( With inputs from IANS )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor