Former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday slammed the Modi government and said that she feels Gandhi’s India is turning into Godse’s India.
Mufti’s remarks were in connection to the arrest of three Kashmiri youths for allegedly sharing pro-Pakistan posts on WhatsApp after India lost the T-20 World Cup match against Pakistan in October.
Speaking about the incident during an event in New Delhi, the PDP chief said: “I remember a cricket match between India and Pakistan during Vajpayee ji’s era, where citizens of Pakistan were cheering for India and citizens of India were cheering for Pakistan. And former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf also praised the then Indian captain MS Dhoni.”
“But some days ago in Agra, when some youngsters cheered for the Pak cricket team during a match with India, not a single lawyer is ready to take their case….so it feels like Gandhi’s India is turning into Godse’s India,” news agency quoted Mufti as saying.
According to reports, the three students were booked by UP Poilce in Agra under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 505(1)(B) (intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to public) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and also charged them under Section 66F of the Information Technology Act
Soon after their arrest, Mufti had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought his intervention into the matter so that “the future of these young briliant minds is not destroyed.”
“I write to you with a deep sense of disappointment and concern about the alarming situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Not too long ago when you presided over an all party meeting in Delhi you expressed your intention to remove “dill ke doori “between Delhi and J&K,” the letter read.
She further wrote in the letter that patriotism and sense of loyalty has to be cultivated with compassion and can’t be forced by wielding the baton or by the barrel of a gun.