AARYAN SHARMA
JAMMU: Basking in the glory of witnessing a historic moment, proud daughters of first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti on Monday stood by her side and clearly indicated that they were ready to fit in her shoes in the capacity of closed door advisors the way she stood by her father in difficult years of his life ahead of raising Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Both Irtiqa Iqbal and Iltija Iqbal expressed hope that their mother would be able to make things better for the people of the State and fulfill all the promises made to them.
“It is a historic moment for the State where we are seeing a woman coming to the forefront. For the first time we are going to have a woman Chief Minister. I think that means a lot to me and to the women of the State”, Irtiqa told reporters after the oath ceremony was over.
“As a daughter I expect that she will be able to do her job and make us all proud and as a citizen of the State I am hopeful she is going to make things better for the people especially women, she added.
She said from today onwards Mehbooba Mufti’s main priority will be people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.
Commenting on her long innings in politics Irtiqa said “I think she can make a difference as she has been in politics for over two decades now. She has worked at the grass roots level. There should be transparency in the government and focus on tackling corruption and delivering good governance”, she added.
She also expressed hope that the PDP-BJP alliance government would be able to realise the dreams of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and deliver responsive, transparent and corruption free government.
Mehbooba’s younger daughter Iltija Iqbal said her real challenge would be to take everybody together in the coming months. She said, “We are all there to support her in whatever capacity we can”. When asked is she ready herself to slip in to the shoes of her mother the way she used to stood behind her father Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, Iltija said, “I have learnt one thing from my family and that is ‘Never say Never’. She said my mother never thought she would join politics and here she is becoming Chief Minister today.
