Suhail A Shah

Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday publicly apologised for the “toffee” remark she had made while heading the coalition government and also clarified that she did not visit the kin of militants on her own but had been invited by the families themselves.

Mehbooba was addressing party workers at her father Mufti Muhammad Sayeed’s grave in Bijbehara town of Anantnag district.

During her address, the former CM implied that the 2016 unrest following Burhan Wani’s killing was orchestrated and young boys were pushed by people with vested interests towards Army camps and police stations, where these kids faced pellets and bullets.

“Were they not the same kids who used to participate in my rallies? Was I not supposed to feel the pain? Am I not a mother? Mothers even slap and curse their kids when they take the wrong path. And that is what I had done back then,” Mehbooba said, referring to her “toffee” comment in 2016

Back then in a presser with Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Mehbooba was asked about civilian killings and she had responded by saying, “Had these (slain) kids gone to buy milk or toffees from the Army camp,”

“Today, the statement is being held against me. But tell me, was I not supposed to feel the pain of losing young boys?” she asked and then apologised for the remark.

She said if any one felt hurt by her remarks made by, “a mother in rage, I apologise for it today.”

The former CM has also faced sharp criticism recently from political parties and from Hizb commander Riyaz Naikoo for visiting families of some militants in south Kashmir. In an audiotape, released on Sunday, Naikoo could be heard urging militant families to not allow Mehbooba to enter their homes.

Mehbooba in her address on Monday, cleared the air on the recent development. “A family came to me and narrated how their daughter was detained in Jammu for four days, just because her brother was a militant. Two more former CMs (Farooq and Omar) live close to where I live but the family came to me. What was I supposed to do?” she asked.

She said though she had offered to call the DGP, the family wanted her to visit them to send out a message across the Kashmir valley.

In a subtle reference to Naikoo’s statement, Mehbooba said she would not visit any militant families “if any of my children or brothers is hurt by my visits”. However, she said, her doors would always remain open for any Kashmiri who is in dire straits.

Later in her interaction with mediapersons, Mehbooba reiterated that PM Narendra Modi had wasted the mandate given by people. “Modi used to say he will follow in the footsteps of Vajpayee (Atal Bihari) vis-à-vis the Kashmir issue. But, unfortunately, he wasted the huge mandate across the country in general and Kashmir in particular.”

Mehbooba, facing an uphill task of keeping the PDP together as many of her senior party members havejoined other parties, called such people “power hungry”. “These are the same people who went to Nagpur and offered unconditional support when my father left this world. These are power hungry people and anything better cannot be expected from them,” she said.

Raising her pitch during the speech, she invited youth to join her party. “The wind has come and taken the dust along. The party is stronger than ever. I urge youth to come forward and join us.”

Courtesy:The Tribune,Jan08,2019