Finally, Mehbooba Mufti Admits the Truth

SRINAGAR: After months of denial, the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti Monday admitted that the proposal for building housing colony for ex-servicemen was under the consideration of the state government.

However, Mehbooba targeted the opposition National Conference's working president and former CM, Omar Abdullah, for spreading “false” information among people over the issue of ‘Sainik Colony’.

“Omar Abdullah himself was the chief minister of the state, he knows that neither a chief minister nor a prime minister of the country can dilute the special status of Jammu and Kashmir,” Mehbooba said after the civil secretariat opened in Srinagar.

“Since Omar Abdullah is not a common man but has been a chief minister, I hope that Omar does not repeat his mistake today in which he has referred to some papers (about Sainik Colony),” Mehbooba said.

Last week, Omar had alleged that “the proposed Sainik Colony would be a ruse to settle non-state subjects in J&K”. Hitting back at the chief minister, Omar posted a picture from the document regarding allotment ‘of 350 kanals of land for Sainik Colony at Srinagar’ on Twitter, saying: “If you have the guts & truly believe this image is fake file a case against me in the nearest police station TODAY!!”

Mehbooba, however, admitted that the retired army men of J&K have been demanding land for residential colony, but the government has “not allotted” land for establishing Sainik Colony.

“The demand for the Sainik Colony is from ex-servicemen who are state subjects. No ex-serviceman from outside J&K has demanded land for Sainik Colony. But till date the government has not allotted any for establishing Sainik Colony,” Mehbooba said.

She asserted that “no power will go against the special status of Jammu and Kashmir”. “Whether it is the chief minister or the Prime Minister, nobody can go against the special status of the state,” she said.

“Omar Abdullah had recently posted a picture on Twitter which showed police men beating someone, but that picture was of 2010 when he was the chief minister,” Mehbooba said. She referred to a picture posted by Omar Abdullah on social networking site, Twitter, in which some policemen were shown beating a youth, and the picture was purportedly of 2010 civil uprising.

Reiterating her father, late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s decision for allying with the BJP, she said it was a “difficult decision not for damaging but to safeguard the identity of Jammu and Kashmir”.

The chief minister appealed people for “helping the government in maintaining peace in the state”. “People should not believe in rumours. I appeal common masses to give us a chance for maintaining peace in the state and support us in taking it out of the quagmire,” she said.