New Delhi: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti has urged workers and activists of various political parties to support the PDP in the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections. Mufti also urged them to rise above partisan politics and fight for the safeguarding of the region’s core identity and interests.

Addressing various roadshows in Kokernag, the PDP President lamented the tough times faced by the people of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the unjust incarceration of innocent youth. She further added that the guns and stones would not resolve the issue, but PDP would resist through vote and voice.

Expressing disappointment over the reluctance of the National Conference (NC) to collaborate in the electoral battle, Mehbooba emphasized the importance of solidarity in facing the region’s adversities.

“There was a dire need for these polls to be fought together. Unfortunately, the NC didn’t want that. They wrote off the PDP. NC leadership declared that PDP is finished. How can a party that has eradicated the Ikhwan culture and repealed POTA in Kashmir she questioned? How can you finish the party that opened roads across the LOC and even initiated a new era of dialogue and reconciliation? If the PDP were finished, one would not have seen such massive support for the party in every nook and corner of Kashmir. I am thankful to them for this,” Mehbooba said.

The upcoming election serves as a crucial platform to resist the erosion of Jammu and Kashmir’s identity and interests, pointing to issues such as land appropriation, resource exploitation, and rampant unemployment, Mehbooba urged the voters to recognize the broader significance of their participation beyond infrastructural promises.

Appealing to workers of rival parties, including the NC and Congress, Mehbooba urged them to recognize the gravity of the situation and unite them in the common cause. 

Stressing that the election is not merely about amenities but about safeguarding fundamental freedoms and rights, the PDP President warned against succumbing to external pressures that seek to plunder the region of its resources, lands, and jobs.

Praising her party workers Mufti said that the persecution against her and her father Mufti Mohammad Syed’s party and legacy has a clear-cut agenda and manifesto of peace with dignity “Mufti Mohammad Syed had always wished to safeguard Jammu and Kashmir and therefore PDP leaders were coerced, lured to break up the party. But our workers stood firm like a rock,” she said.

Mufti said to her workers, now we have the opportunity to take our case through your vote to the people of Mahatma Gandhi’s India. She appealed to people not to boycott the polls this time. “Your vote will empower me to tell the parliament that the 5th of August 2019 decision is unacceptable to us and whatever has been snatched must be returned without further delay,” Mehbooba said.