Delhi blast: Mehbooba Mufti's 'Kashmir troubles' remark sparks row; BJP accuses her of defending terrorists

PDP president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's remark on the Red Fort car blast has stirred up a political storm with the Bharatiya Janata Party accusing her of defending terrorists.

 

Mufti, while launching a sharp attack on the Centre on Sunday, said the car blast in Delhi reflected a deepening sense of insecurity across the country and a failure of the government's policies in Jammu & Kashmir. 

 

"You (Central government) told the world that everything is alright in Kashmir, but the troubles of Kashmir echoed right in front of the Red Fort," Mufti said, while addressing the party's Working Group meeting in Srinagar.

 

In a suspected suicide attack, a slow-moving car exploded near Delhi's Red Fort on November 10, killing 13 people and injuring over 30 others. The man behind the wheel has been identified as Umar Un Nabi, a Kashmiri doctor linked to the Al-Falah University in Faridabad.

 

"If a well-educated youth, a doctor, kills himself and others by strapping RDX to his body, it means there is no safety in the nation. You may get votes by doing Hindu-Muslim politics, but in which direction is the nation heading?," Mufti asked.

 

The former CM further alleged that divisive politics has taken over national security and noted that such a poisonous environment was also responsible for the youth in Kashmir taking a dangerous path.

 

Hitting back at Mufti, the BJP accused the PDP chief of justifying terrorism.

 

"Mufti, who backed terrorist Burhan Wani,  now justifies the terrorist of Red Fort Blast," party spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari wrote on X.

 

He questioned why the Opposition led by Congress does not resist in backing terrorists.

 

"PDP is the new PTDP - Pro Terrorist Development Party," he said.

India