Police stop Mehbooba’s protest march to Parliament

New Delhi: PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday took to streets in the national capital to protest against the ongoing anti-encroachment drive being carried out by the administration in Jammu and Kashmir.
Carrying placards reading ‘Stop Bullying, Stop Bulldozing’, Mufti, along with scores of supporters, gathered at the busy Boat Club area with an aim to march towards Parliament in a bid to inform the opposition parties about the ongoing ‘Bulldozer policy’ being followed in the Union Territory.
However, police detained the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, and took her and her party workers to Jantar Mantar. The protesters dispersed from Jantar Mantar.
“We had come to inform the public, opposition parties and members of the ruling BJP about the misery faced by the public at large in Jammu and Kashmir.
“If we can’t go to Parliament, I wonder where we should go then. Does the government want us to get our grievances redressed at the United Nations,” Mufti asked.
During the protest, Mufti accused Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and the Jammu and Kashmir administration of turning the Union Territory into Afghanistan by indulging in large-scale destruction.
“There is no rule of law in Jammu and Kashmir. First we were deprived of our identity, then our jobs and now our homes and shops. Wonder what does this government want?” she asked.
“Jammu Kashmir ko Afghanistan ki tarah barbad kiya ja raha hai (Jammu and Kashmir is being ruined like Afghanistan),” she charged.
There is no rule of law that can be seen in Jammu and Kashmir and “we came all the way to Delhi to speak our hearts out. But it seems that the voice of the general public is muzzled here as well,” Mufti alleged.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other political parties have denounced the anti-encroachment drive and asked the administration to stop it, claiming that it is affecting the poor.