‘Milk and Toffee’ clarification after a decade is deceptive: Tanvir Sadiq slams Mehbooba Mufti
Accuses PDP of trading J&K’s interests for power in 2015
Srinagar, 04 Apr: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Chef Spokesperson and MLA Zadibal Tanvir Sadiq Saturday strongly rejected the recent clarification by Mehbooba Mufti regarding her controversial “milk and toffee” remarks made a decade ago, terming it “sheer deception, duplicity, and a misleading narrative.”
Tanvir said it is unfortunate that after ten years, Mehbooba Mufti now seeks to justify her remarks by invoking her identity as a mother. “The reality is that no mother can make such statements about a minor child who has been killed,” he said.
He further alleged that at the time, Mehbooba Mufti was “intoxicated with power” and adopted an insensitive approach to justify the killing of young civilians. He added that even the then Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who was present during the press conference, was left astonished by her remarks.
Questioning her stance, Sadiq asked whether she could deny the indiscriminate use of pellet guns during her tenure. “Can a mother permit such actions against her own children, which left thousands injured and many youths blinded either partially or completely?” he said.
He maintained that facts cannot be altered through reinterpretation or selective memory. “The people of Jammu and Kashmir are fully aware of the truth and cannot be misled by belated explanations,” he added.
Sadiq also alleged that during the peak of governance failure under the PDP regime, attempts were made to divert public attention from pressing issues, citing incidents like the braid-chopping scare that affected women across the region.
Launching a broader attack, Sadiq said the Peoples Democratic Party cannot absolve itself of the damage caused to Jammu and Kashmir after 2015. He accused the party of trading the rights and interests of the people for power by entering into an alliance with the BJP, which, he said, legitimized policies detrimental to the region’s political, economic, and constitutional framework.
“The people of Jammu and Kashmir will never forget this political betrayal,” he said adding, “During the election campaign, the PDP warned people about the BJP’s agenda, but later became a partner in the very same agenda it had opposed.”
He further remarked that the PDP-BJP alliance inflicted long-term damage on the region. “This alliance weakened Jammu and Kashmir politically and pushed it towards economic distress. When the PDP handed over the reins of governance, it triggered a chain of events whose consequences are still being faced by the people,” he said.
Referring to the developments of 2019, Sadiq asserted that the groundwork for those decisions had been laid much earlier. “Had the PDP not provided political legitimacy to the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir, the situation in 2019 might have been different. The party chose power over the interests of the people, and the consequences continue to unfold,” he added.
