Kashmir is becoming worse than Afghanistan: former J&K CM on 'eviction drive'

File Photo/PTI

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday slammed the anti-encroachment drive, and hit out at the BJP and Jammu and Kashmir administration, accusing them of turning the union territory into Afghanistan by following a "bulldozer policy".

She said the BJP's initial call for 'Ek Samvidhan, Ek Vidhan, Ek Pradhan' has given way to 'one country, one language, one religion', "where there is no Constitution".

Addressing a press conference, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief appealed to Opposition leaders in the country not to be a mute spectator to the "atrocities being committed by the BJP".

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"Parties including the Congress, Left, DMK, TMC, Samajwadi Party and others should raise their voices and not remain silent to the atrocities on common people in Jammu and Kashmir," she said.

When asked about the assurance of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha that houses of poor will not be touched during the drive, Mehbooba said it is an attempt to create a discord between the rich and poor.

The fact is that small houses with tin shed are also being demolished which makes it clear that his message is not being heard on the ground, she claimed.

The People's Democratic Party Chief alleged the BJP is using its brute majority to weaponize everything and "bulldoze" the Constitution.

"Palestine is still better. At least people talk. Kashmir is becoming worse than Afghanistan the way bulldozers are being used to demolish homes of people. What is the purpose of demolishing small houses of people. Is there a bulldozer policy," she said.

"The brunt is borne by the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Whatever is happening since 2019 is an onslaught on our identity, on our economy, on our jobs, on our lands," Mehbooba said.

"What is happening in Jammu and Kashmir is extreme. Afghanistan which was not the USA's own territory they bombed in one go but in our state destruction takes place everyday. I don't think any state would have seen so many bulldozers which are now being moved in Jammu and Kashmir...Irony is crooks, fraudsters, scamsters, conmen have been given 45,000 square meter while land of common people are being snatched," she said.

Another former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said the Jammu and Kashmir administration should halt the anti-encroachment drive to reclaim state land and instead allow the people to prove their claims over the properties.

"Bulldozer cannot be the first response of a government. It's not a government's job to harass people. It's job is to heal the wounds," Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar.

The former chief minister said his party was against the grabbing of the state land. However, the administration must follow due course of law while carrying out eviction drive.

Referring to several lists of alleged encroachers circulating on social media, Abdullah said he did not expect to find his family house on Gupkar road in these lists as they had an active lease on it.

"My sister approached the High Court where the government advocates took a stand that the lists in public domain are fake. Then what is the basis of demolitions carried out right now?," he asked.

No paperwork was done wherever the demolition was carried out. Media was informed in advance, but the occupants have no information, he added.

Abdullah said allegations have started pouring in that officials are using the demolition drive on the ground to seek illegal gratifications.

"We have reports that people whose name figures in the lists are asked to pay Rs 1.5 lakh to get their names off it. There are people who have active lease or proprietary land but are still being subjected to demolition without paperwork," he said.

The NC leader said the government should stop the demolition drive and publish the list of people it deems illegal encroachers.

"Make the list of encroachers public. Give them four to six weeks to substantiate their claims, if they have any. Those who cannot substantiate their claims should be notified and given time to remove the encroachments on their own," he said.

Abdullah said the government should come up with a scheme to allow the regularisation of the illegal occupants like it is done in other parts of the country, including Delhi.

"A scheme should be framed to give an option to regularise their possessions. We have seen in Delhi so many colonies were regularised. It will generate revenue for the government as well," he added.

Asked about the assurance given by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha that poor people will be spared, Abdullah said the law was equal for all.

"There is nowhere in the constitution that laws are different for rich and poor. This pick and choose is just to create a wave," he said.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference chief Sajad Gani Lone said that Jammu and Kashmir administration seems to be more interested in humiliating people than retrieving state land from encroachers.

"There is not a single day when videos of poor people being targeted for demolition are not coming in while the L-G is saying the poor will not be touched. Either the L-G Office is telling lies or the videos are fake.

"Question is whether they want to retrieve the land or humiliate the people. It seems that humiliation is more important," Lone said at a press conference here.

A former minister in the PDP-BJP coalition government, Lone said Jammu and Kashmir is part of India and should be treated on a par with the rest of the country.

"Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India, they should follow here what they are doing elsewhere. Are they retrieving lands in the rest of the country?" he asked.

Lone, once seen as close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also questioned the BJP-led Centre's claims of inclusiveness.

"I thought the PM is of everyone. But (it seems) 95 per cent encroachers are Muslims. Who is my PM, who is the PM of the poor?" he asked.

Lone, however, said he would not meet the Prime Minister on the issue.

The People's Conference president said Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and a few officers, who do not even belong to Jammu and Kashmir, cannot take decisions on behalf of its people.

"The L-G cannot take decisions on behalf of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The decisions are taken by a cabal of a few officers who are here as tourists. They will leave and we will have to bear the aftermath," he added.

Governments across the globe work towards eradicating homelessness but "here we have a new model of economics where homelessness is being invented", he alleged.

"Only poor people will be affected. I am making this prediction that the rich will hire a lawyer and get back their lands," Lone added.

Jammu and Kashmir has gone through a prolonged period of turmoil and the government should not disrupt people's lives, Lone said.

"I do not know how they can win the hearts of people by demolishing their houses," he said.

Lone claimed that he had a list of people who grabbed huge tracts of land -- some in Jammu and some in Kashmir -- and alleged "not even a notice has been issued to them".

Asked about the next course of action if the demolition drive continued, Lone said he would sit on a hunger strike in Delhi. (PTI)