A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged on Wednesday against lodged against Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Mehbooba Mufti on the complaint of the Election Commission in south Kashmir’s Anantnag-Rajouri constituency for holding a street protest on the polling day on May 25 to press for the release of her detained workers and polling agents.
According to the FIR, a huge number of PDP workers led by Ms. Mufti assembled in Bijbehara town and raised slogans for releasing the PDP workers, “which amounted to the gross violation of Model Code of Conduct (MCC)“.
“The huge group of PDP workers also blocked the main road and staged a protest at main spot Bijbehara for more than one hour, which amounted to violations of Section 144 of the CrPC, which was imposed in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency,” it reads.
Ms. Mufti, also former J&K Chief Minister, said she was paying a price for speaking truth to power. “Our protest was against the Government of India which was in cahoots with local administration for detaining hundreds of PDP polling agents and workers in the hours leading up to voting. Still not satisfied, the same administration went on to launch Cordon and Search Operations in traditional PDP stronghold areas to terrorise our voters and prevent them from exercising their right to vote. Ulta chor kotwal ko daante [the pot calling the kettle black],” Ms. Mufti said.
Condemning the move to lodge an FIR, Ms. Mufti’s daughter Ilitija Mufti, also media adviser of her mother, accused the administration of “resorting to tactical rigging by selectively arresting PDP supporters ahead of polling” on May 25.
This story was originally published in thehindu.com. Read the full story here.
