Mehbooba Mufti Announces PDP Support for NC-Congress Alliance if They Adopt Party’s Kashmir Manifesto
Srinagar, 24th August 2024: In preparation for the upcoming assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti made a significant announcement on Saturday while unveiling the party’s manifesto. She stated that if the National Conference (NC) and Congress agreed to her party’s manifesto and collaborated on resolving the Kashmir issue, she would support their alliance and abstain from contesting any seats herself.
Mufti emphasized, “If the NC and Congress are willing to adopt our manifesto and work towards addressing the Kashmir issue, we will back them without running for any seats.”
The PDP’s manifesto advocates for resuming trade between India and Pakistan across the Line of Control (LoC), a point also included in the National Conference’s manifesto as one of their twelve guarantees. Mufti highlighted that the PDP’s manifesto has always aimed at promoting resolution and reconciliation. She expressed concerns that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has deteriorated since the abrogation of Article 370 and lamented that the issue has now been reduced to seat-sharing rather than addressing its broader implications.
The PDP’s manifesto includes several proposals: reopening trade across the LoC, providing up to 200 units of free electricity for residents, offering free electricity to temples, mosques, and shrines, eliminating water taxes, and removing water meters. Additionally, Mufti pledged to reinstate the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed scheme to ensure that poor households receive adequate rice and ration, and to provide twelve cylinders of cooking gas per year to economically disadvantaged families.
Mufti also promised to double social security benefits such as old-age and widow pensions and to promote Sharda Peeth as a prominent religious pilgrimage site. Other commitments include revoking the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), reinstating the J&K Human Rights Commission, protecting land and employment rights for residents, and imposing a 100% import duty on apples to support local producers.
The three-phase elections are scheduled to begin on September 18 and conclude on October 1, with results expected on October 4. The NC and Congress have formed a pre-poll alliance, with the NC also supporting the restoration of trade across the LoC.
