ibn sultan
Srinagar, July 13: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to “communalise” the legacy of the 1931 Kashmir martyrs and alleged that she was placed under house arrest to prevent her from paying tributes at the Martyrs’ Graveyard.
Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Mufti claimed that the BJP was trying to divide the people of Jammu and Kashmir on communal and regional lines by politicising the sacrifices of those killed on July 13, 1931.
“The BJP has made the sacrifice of Kashmiris a question of Hindu-Muslim, Dogra-Kashmiri, Jammu-Kashmir,” she said.
The PDP chief described the 21 Kashmiris who were killed outside the Central Jail in Srinagar on July 13, 1931, as martyrs whose sacrifices, she said, awakened the people of Jammu and Kashmir and laid the foundation for the region’s political awakening.
Drawing parallels with India’s freedom movement, Mufti referred to freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru and Ashfaqullah Khan, asserting that her party respects the sacrifices of all martyrs equally.
“BJP cannot tarnish the minds of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” she said.
Mufti further alleged that she was prevented from visiting the Mazar-e-Shuhada at the Naqshband Sahib shrine in Nowhatta to offer tributes.
“Yesterday they arrested me, today they have locked me up. This is the injustice of the BJP,” she alleged, adding, “If they cannot respect our martyrs, then at least they should not stop us from paying our respects.”
Earlier in the day, authorities sealed roads leading to the Martyrs’ Graveyard and deployed police and CRPF personnel across parts of Srinagar’s old city to prevent commemorative gatherings.
July 13, which was observed as a public holiday in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir before the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, continues to be commemorated by several regional political parties despite no longer being an official holiday.
