'Won't Raise Tricolour Till Article 370 Is Back,' Says Mehbooba; BJP Raises 'Sedition' Cry
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress both criticised People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti for her recent remarks on Friday, with the Jammu and Kashmir wing of BJP demanding her arrest for sedition.
Mufti, who was released from a year and half of detention recently, on Friday said she was not interested in contesting elections or holding the national tricolour till the constitutional changes enforced on August 5 last year were rolled back.
This was the first time Mufti addressed reporters since her release from 14-month detention following the reading down of Article 370.
The flag of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was prominently placed on a table in front of the PDP president along with that of her party during the presser.
Also read: BJP Has Demolished Constitution, Wants to Replace it With Own Manifesto: Mehbooba Mufti
"This is my flag," Mehbooba said, pointing to the flag of the erstwhile state, when a reporter asked her about her statement that if Article 370 was revoked, there will be no one left to hold India's flag.
"When this flag of ours is restored, we will raise that flag [the tricolour] also. But we will not raise any other flag till the time our flag, which was robbed from us, is back in our hand," she said.
"Hamara uss jhande se rishta is jhande ne banaya hai ['our relationship with the tricolour was built by the state flag'], it is not independent of this flag," Mehbooba was quoted by Indian Express as having said.
Mehbooba said the tricolour was part of the constitution and the BJP had desecrated that very constitution and flag. "When a rape incident took place in Kathua area of Jammu, the BJP came out with that flag and raised slogans in support of the rapist," she said, accusing the BJP of "looting" the dignity of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
"We had acceded to a liberal, democratic, secular India. Let me tell them we are not comfortable, we are incompatible with today's India where minorities and Dalits are not safe and where they tried to disrespect us by looting our dignity," she said.
"As far as I am concerned, I have no interest in elections. Till the time the Constitution under which I used to contest elections is returned to us, Mehbooba Mufti has got nothing to do with elections, let me tell you that," she said.
Twenty days after the Article 370 move in 2019, on August 25, the state flag of Jammu and Kashmir, which would fly high atop the civil secretariat beside the tricolour, was surreptitiously removed from the six-storey building.
'Go to Pakistan'
The BJP said "no power on earth" can either hoist the state flag again or restore Article 370, which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
"As the government has permanently scrapped Article 370, no power on earth can restore it. No power on earth can hoist any flag other than the national flag in J-K," he said.
"I request Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to take cognisance of seditious remarks of Mehbooba Mufti, book her for the seditious act and put her behind bars," Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina told reporters.
"We will sacrifice every drop of our blood for our flag, country and motherland. J&K is an integral part of our country, so only one flag can be hoisted in J&K and that is the national flag," he said.
"I warn leaders like Mehbooba Mufti not to instigate the people of Kashmir. We will not allow anyone to disturb peace, normalcy and brotherhood. In case anything wrong happens, she will have to face the consequences," he said.
If Kashmiri leaders are feeling insecure in India, they can go to Pakistan and China, he added.
The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee took a milder route by saying remarks on the tricolour are unacceptable and has hurt sentiments of people.
"Such statements are intolerable and unacceptable in any society," JKPCC chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said.
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