JAMMU: On Monday, Mehbooba Mufti slammed the BJP, accusing it of “breaking” the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra as it feared Opposition unity.A day after NCP leader Ajit Pawar and eight other party members joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government, she made her statement. “The sabotage/breaking (jod-tod) of parties is being brought on by the fear of opposition unification. Everything that is occurring (in Maharashtra) is proof of this, she told reporters in Jammu. She claimed that the BJP’s activities are harming India’s standing as a strong democracy and soft power. India is well-known for being a vibrant democracy and a soft power throughout the world.You are destroying it and doing harm to it. It won’t splinter the opposition’s cohesiveness, but rather make it stronger. She charged that the ruling party has utilised organisations like the CBI and ED improperly to intimidate and crush the opposition. She asserted that the conflict is not between the opposition and the BJP but instead includes organisations like the NIA, ED, and CBI in addition to the opposition and the BJP. She predicted that the opposition would prevail. “If you look at the vote percentage of Opposition, it is between 63 and 64, whereas the NDA has only 36 or 37,” she claimed, charging the ruling party with abusing its financial clout and threatening to control and split opposition parties.The NCP was once referred to be the most corrupt party by a BJP politician, but now, she alleged, NCP leaders have been welcomed into their own government. “You are not only destroying the constitution, but also democracy,” she yelled. Mufti questioned the BJP’s idea of consistency when it came to the uniform civil code. What kind of uniformity are they referring to? Already, we have a common criminal code. It is operating flawlessly, she remarked. She also brought up the subject of rising prices and joblessness. “The Opposition would welcome it if the proposed uniformity results in lower tomato prices, the creation of two crore jobs, and the punishment of rapists.” She suggested that the Centre concentrate on putting laws in place that empower and protect women.
