Mufti backs for Pakistani currency in J&K
Former CM Mufti Mohammed Sayeed has advocated the use of Pakistani currency, besides the Indian rupee, in the state.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: In a development which is certain to land Congress in trouble and hand BJP an opportunity to target the ruling coalition in Jammu and Kashmir just before the assembly polls, former chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed has advocated the use of Pakistani currency, besides the Indian rupee, in the state.
���Like Europe which has one currency, we want the currency of both countries to run in Kashmir on both sides of the line of control,��� the PDP chief said while addressing a rally at Budhal in Rajouri district on Saturday. ���As in Europe, where people (EU citizens) travel to nearly 40 countries on a single passport and without any visa, we want people to travel on both sides of Kashmir without any restrictions. We want Jammu and Kashmir to become a model for Saarc nations which will have one economic zone,������ he added.
The Mufti���s demand had the Congress on the back-foot. The BJP, however, was livid, as it hit out at the PDP chief for espousing a brazenly `anti-national cause���, even as it asked the Congress to disassociate itself from its alliance partner.
���The Mufti���s suggestion is in keeping with the separatist attitude nursed by his party, and is brazenly anti-national. The Congress should disassociate itself from PDP,������ BJP parliamentary party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra said here on Tuesday afternoon.
Pushed on the defensive, the Congress was left groping for an appropriate response. ���We haven���t verified the purported statement. We would not like to comment on the issue merely on the basis of what has been reported in the press. We would, however, like to state the issue of currency falls under the domain of the Centre,������ Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan said later in the day.
���Like Europe which has one currency, we want the currency of both countries to run in Kashmir on both sides of the line of control,��� the PDP chief said while addressing a rally at Budhal in Rajouri district on Saturday. ���As in Europe, where people (EU citizens) travel to nearly 40 countries on a single passport and without any visa, we want people to travel on both sides of Kashmir without any restrictions. We want Jammu and Kashmir to become a model for Saarc nations which will have one economic zone,������ he added.
The Mufti���s demand had the Congress on the back-foot. The BJP, however, was livid, as it hit out at the PDP chief for espousing a brazenly `anti-national cause���, even as it asked the Congress to disassociate itself from its alliance partner.
���The Mufti���s suggestion is in keeping with the separatist attitude nursed by his party, and is brazenly anti-national. The Congress should disassociate itself from PDP,������ BJP parliamentary party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra said here on Tuesday afternoon.
Pushed on the defensive, the Congress was left groping for an appropriate response. ���We haven���t verified the purported statement. We would not like to comment on the issue merely on the basis of what has been reported in the press. We would, however, like to state the issue of currency falls under the domain of the Centre,������ Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan said later in the day.
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