SRINAGAR: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday said India’s presence in Jammu and Kashmir will be rendered illegal if the conditions of Instrument of Accession signed by Maharaja Hari Singh in October 1947 were not restored.
She said the decisions of August 5, 2019 — when the Centre abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir — were illegal.
“Conditions on which Jammu and Kashmir had acceded to India will have to be restored or your occupation here becomes illegal. The guarantees of the 1947 accession cannot be snatched from us legally. If anyone does it illegally, then BJP will have to do a fresh accession. On what terms will that be, I don’t know,” Mehbooba said at a function at the party office here.
Mehbooba said the decision taken on October 26, 1947 was right and it had legal basis.
“It was signed by the Maharaja and supported by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. The decision taken on August 5, 2019 was illegal, was illegal, was illegal,” she added.
The former chief minister said it was ironic that while the government has announced October 26 as a holiday to celebrate the accession of Jammu and Kashmir with India, it was running over the very spirit of the accession.
“We do not want the accession day holiday, restore the essence of accession. I want to tell people of our country that we did not accede with the BJP but with you, your secularism and the democratic system. Our handshake with you was based on some conditions…One Muslim majority state and your are not able to take care of it,” she said, accusing the BJP of destroying Jammu and Kashmir.
“Our relation with India was based on instrument of accession but now you have changed it to relations based on gun, army, PSA, UAPA and ED. How long will you continue like that?” she asked. (PTI)