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Mehbooba Mufti Rejects Opposition's Demand For Probe Into Recent Unrest In Valley

"The situation which you have created... we all should sit and find a solution to it."
Hindustan Times via Getty Images

JAMMU -- Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday rejected the opposition demand for setting up of an inquiry commission into the recent unrest in the Valley even as she blamed NC and Congress for sowing the 'seeds' of the turmoil in the state.

On the opening day of the Budget session of the Assembly, she said the alliance of 1987 between NC (National Conference) and Congress had led to the weapons being given to the youth of Kashmir.

She was responding after Congress member Rigzin Jora blamed the 'unholy alliance' of PDP and BJP in the state for the turmoil in the Valley which erupted in July last year and continued for over five months.

He also demanded setting up of a commission to probe last year's unrest that was triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter.

"Some people here say that a commission should be set up to probe it (unrest). But just yesterday I received the report of the (Justice M L) Koul Commission set up to probe the 2010 killings. Let us first fix the responsibilities in it (2010 killings) and talk of new commission only after reading that report," the Chief Minister said, responding to Jora's demand.

She was referring to the unrest of 2010 during the NC- Congress rule when Omar Abdullah was the Chief Minister.

Hitting back at the opposition, Mehbooba said, "The situation which you have created... we all should sit and find a solution to it."

Tearing into the opposition charges, Mehbooba said, "What should you call the alliance of 1987 when the youth of Kashmir were handed over the guns. The seeds of turmoil were sown at that time. Slogans of plebiscite were raised and it was said that J-K will be separated from India and made a part of Pakistan."

"Their slogan was that Kashmir will become part of Pakistan," she said, claiming that the alliance of 1987 led to weapons being handed over to the youth of Kashmir.

Her remarks came during the Assembly Session which was adjourned for the day normally after finishing of the day's business of obituary reference.

As Mehbooba was speaking, NC MLAs created commotion in the House objecting to her remarks and pointed out that her father and former CM late Mufti Mohammed Sayeed was part of Congress at that time.

Amidst the uproar, the CM said the situation in the past few months has been bad and several people, including security forces personnel, have lost their lives which should not have had happened.

The Assembly also paid tributes to the people killed during last year's unrest in Kashmir Valley along with former Governor Lt Gen (retd) S K Sinha, former ministers and legislatures who passed away since the last session.

Soon after Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta read out the references on the demise of the former state Governor and other leaders who passed away, opposition demanded that tributes be paid to the civilians killed during the unrest in the Valley.

"As we pay tributes to the former Governor and the leaders who passed away, we should also pay tributes to the civilians who were killed in the over five months of the unrest in the valley," NC MLA Mohammad Shafi said.

Shafi claimed that all laws were ignored while dealing with the unrest and said it had dented the image of not only the state government but also the entire country in front of the whole world.

The opposition leader demanded that an inquiry be held into the "excesses" committed and the guilty be identified and action taken against them.

"It is important if we have to restore the faith of the people in democracy," Shafi said.

The Congress leader said the five months of turmoil in Kashmir should not be called an unrest or law and order problem but a 'mass uprising'.

"It would be wrong to call it unrest or law and order problem, but a mass uprising. Why did it happen? It happened as the psyche of the people of Kashmir was hurt due to the unholy alliance. Burhan Wani was just a trigger," Jora said.

He demanded that the House also pay tributes to the personnel of the security forces who lost their lives in the insurgency-related incidents in the state.

The BJP demanded that the House should also pay tributes to the people who lost their lives in the cross-border firing.

Independent MLA Engineer Rashid said the people who lost their lives in the unrest in the Valley died 'demanding plebiscite'.

"Hold plebiscite to resolve Kashmir issue. If you agreed to pay compensation to the family of Khalid Muzaffar Wani then you accepted that he was killed. You have lost in front of the ideology of Burhan Wani," Rashid said.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.