Mehbooba takes a jibe at Amit Shah, says can't engage with those who have destroyed constitution

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. File Photo/PTI

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday said that assembly elections were not her priority as she would like to focus on restoration of basic rights of the people of the erstwhile state.

Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, the former chief minister said that election is a distant issue. "Our priority should be restoration of basic rights of people which are being denied. People should have the freedom of movement, freedom of expression."

Mufti said that she cannot engage on the importance of "Article 370" with those who have destroyed the country's Constitution. She was referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent remarks on Article 370.

Shah on Monday said that the Article 370, which gave special constitutional status to Jammu and Kashmir, was meant to be a "temporary" provision since the beginning and the framers of the Constitution had put it there "intelligently".

Mufti said that the BJP is not respecting the constitution of the country. BJP has implemented their communal agenda. They don't know what the significance of Article 370 is. It was a bridge between Jammu and Kashmir and the country which they have broken, she alleged.

Speaking about the holding of a G20 meeting in Kashmir, the PDP president said the government was trying to present a picture of normalcy in the valley to the international community.

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"People are being harassed. Agencies like NIA, SIA and SIU are carrying out daily raids. Schools have been shut for 10 days while shopkeepers have been told to keep their shops open. Everybody is being threatened. In such a scenario, you want to present Kashmir as a trophy in the G20 by painting a picture of normalcy. You and I both know what is right in Kashmir!" she claimed.