Mehbooba Mufti accuses BJP of creating vicious atmosphere for minorities

Former J&K chief minister and People’s Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti lashed out at her former ally, BJP, accusing it of creating a “vicious atmosphere” for minorities.

In a post on microblogging site Twitter on Friday, she wrote that the BJP got a historic mandate in 2014 but did not focus on its slogan of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ (collective efforts, inclusive growth). It’s a pity, she wrote, that “they have squandered it (mandate) on divisive politics and (are) creating a vicious atmosphere where minorities feel threatened”.

Mufti has been targeting the BJP ever since party pulled out of the PDP-BJP coalition in June 2018, leading to the fall of the government.


Her tweet came in response to BJP president Amit Shah’s recent speech in West Bengal where he reportedly said that Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists need not be afraid of the National Register of Citizens as the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill has been brought to grant them citizenship. The bill provides for granting Indian citizenship to illegal non-Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Earlier this month, Mufti had reacted to the bill by tweeting, “Granting citizenship on the basis of religion is appalling and disgusting in equal measure. We are full of venom when it comes to Pakistan but are matching some of its policies in spirit.”