Srinagar, Aug 30: Former chief minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti on Friday urged the Government of India to lift the ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami to enable it to contest assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir.
She termed the National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah’s remarks “regrettable” that Jamaat-e-Islami once considered elections “haram” (forbidden) but now views them as “halal” (permissible).
Speaking to reporters here, Mufti said if Jamaat-e-Islami wishes to contest elections, it should be welcomed. “Democracy is a battle of ideas, and the government should lift the ban on Jamaat, unfreeze and return all its seized institutions and assets.”
Responding to Abdullah’s remarks about JeI, she criticised his statement, saying the National Conference tends to see elections as “halal” when in power and “haram” when out of it.
Earlier, Omar said that Jamaat once deemed elections as ‘haram,’ but now they have become ‘halal.’ “It’s better late than never,” referring to the possibility of JeI participating in assembly elections.
“For 35 years, Jamaat-e-Islami followed a particular political ideology, which has changed now. It is good,” he said.
Mehbooba accused the NC of treating Jammu & Kashmir as its personal domain and of initiating the “haram-halal” debate.
She said, “When Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was Prime Minister, elections were ‘halal’; after his dismissal, they became ‘haram.’ The party pushed for a plebiscite for 22 years, but once Sheikh Abdullah became Chief Minister in 1975, elections were ‘halal’ again.”
The PDP Chief said that Jamaat-e-Islami had participated in elections before, adding that even separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani was part of the electoral process much earlier.
She questioned, “Who declared Jamaat-e-Islami’s or other parties’, including the Muslim United Front (MUF), participation in elections as ‘haram’?”
The former chief minister referred to alleged rigging in the 1987 elections, accusing the NC of electoral irregularities to prevent the emergence of a third force.
She claimed, “In 1987, the National Conference manipulated the elections to block the rise of other parties, effectively shutting the doors to free and fair elections forever.”
Meanwhile, the PDP released the list of constituency in-charges for eight assembly segments.
As per the party’s official list, Adv Aditya Gupta has been appointed in-charge of Jammu East constituency, Rajat Gupta for Jammu West, Er. Darshan Mangotra for Jammu North, Romesh Chandar Verma for Bani, Akhter Ali for Billawar, Joginder Singh for Basohli, Vishal Salgotra for Hiranagar and Bachan Lal for Vijaypur assembly segment.
Elections to the 90-member Jammu & Kashmir Assembly are scheduled in three phases on September 18, September 25 and October 01, with results to be declared on October 4.
