BJP has turned J-K into Afghanistan: Mehbooba Mufti on anti-encroachment drive
New Delhi, Feb 6: Jammu and Kashmir has been turned into Afghanistan by the BJP which is using bulldozers to demolish the homes of poor and marginalised under the ongoing anti-encroachment drive, former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti alleged Monday.
Addressing a press conference here, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief appealed to Opposition leaders in the country not to be a mute spectator to the "atrocities being committed by the BJP".
She alleged the BJP is using its brute majority to weaponize everything and "bulldoze" the Constitution.
"Palestine is still better. At least people talk. Kashmir is becoming worse than Afghanistan the way bulldozers are being used to demolish homes of people. What is the purpose of demolishing small houses of people," she said.
Mehbooba said that according to the government even the centuries-old Shankaracharya Temple and cantonment built by the erstwhile Maharaja are also on encroached land.
The PDP leader said Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha may claim that the houses of poor will not be touched during the anti-encroachment drive but his message is not being heard on the ground as dwellings even with tin sheds are being demolished.
She said the initial call for 'Ek Samvidhan, Ek Vidhan, Ek Pradhan' has given way to 'one country, one language, one religion' where there is no Constitution.
Voice of anyone speaking about the Constitution is being crushed, she said.
"Was removal of Article 370 in accordance with the Constitutional provisions?," she asked.
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Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee holds roadshow in south Kolkata to end campaign
Kolkata (PTI): Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee undertook a roadshow in south Kolkata spanning over six kilometres on Monday afternoon at the fag end of campaigning for the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly election.
The TMC chief was accompanied by party Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose and candidates Aroop Biswas and Debasish Kumar from Tollygunge and Rashbehari, respectively.
People waiting on the roadside and on rooftops and balconies waved at Banerjee as she greeted them with folded hands, walking briskly, as her party compatriots had a tough time keeping pace with her.
The chief minister is contesting from the Bhabanipur assembly seat, where she is pitted against her bete noire, Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP, who defeated her in the 2021 elections in Nandigram.
Banerjee was subsequently elected from Bhabanipur in a byelection.
The roadshow started at Sukanta Setu in the Jadavpur area and culminated at Gopalnagar crossing, past her Kalighat residence, with two small stopovers in between.
TMC flags, festoons, cutouts of Banerjee and banners with slogans in favour of the candidates adorned the roadsides through which the road show passed and culminated at around 5.30 pm.
A large number of TMC supporters participated in the roadshow that Banerjee conducted to end her campaign for the 2026 assembly election in West Bengal.
