BJP used Kashmiri Pandits’ pain as ‘weapon’ to gain votes: Mehbooba Mufti

Srinagar, April 9

The BJP has used the Kashmiri Pandit community’s pain and suffering as a ‘weapon’ to garner votes across the country, People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti alleged on Tuesday. “The BJP has not only used the Kashmiri Pandits as a vote bank but as a weapon as well. It has used the pain of the Kashmiri Pandits as a weapon and then used that weapon to garner the votes of others,” she alleged.

Kashmiris want to return to valley

• People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti said, “Kashmiri Pandits don’t have so many votes themselves but the BJP used their pain and suffering and went around seeking votes in their name, without doing anything for them
• She said,”Kashmiri Pandits are living in challenging conditions outside the Valley, and I feel Kashmiris collectively desire their return to live alongside them, as they once did.”
• She was on a visit to Abhi Guzer, Srinagar, to offer condolences on the death of senior photojournalist Roshan Lal Sharma

“The Pandit community does not have so many votes themselves but the BJP used their pain and suffering and went around seeking votes in their name, without doing anything for them,” she said after visiting Abhi Guzer, Srinagar, to offer condolences on the death of senior photojournalist Roshan Lal Sharma.

She said the BJP used the suffering of Kashmiri pandits for their votes across the country and did nothing to end their suffering. “In the past five years, there has been a BJP government in place in J&K. It is a direct BJP government, and in these years, those Kashmiri pandits living in the valley for the past 30 years had to leave due to circumstances,” Mehbooba said.

She said there is a collective desire in the Valley that Kashmiri pandits should return.

“Kashmiri Pandits are living in very challenging conditions outside the Valley, and I feel Kashmiris collectively desire their return to live alongside them, as they once did,” Mehbooba said.

Meanwhile, while expressing deep sympathies with the family of Roshan Lal Sharma, Mehbooba said the late Roshan Lal has left an indelible mark on the world of photography. “His lens captured moments that told stories, evoked emotions, and documented history. His work resonated with the essence of Kashmir, its people, and their struggle,” she said.

Speaking on the return of the Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley, Mehbooba said the community does not need the help of any government.

She was accompanied by party state secretary Arif Laigaroo, district president, Srinagar, Ab Qayoom Bhat, and others.

L-G Manoj Sinha and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also visited the family to pay their condolences. Both of them, however, refused to talk, saying it was a sombre occasion.