Srinagar, May 1: PDP leader Iltija Mufti on Friday said she is a law-abiding citizen and will fully co-operate with police in its probe into a case registered after she posted a video of late separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on social media.
The cyber wing of the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Thursday registered an FIR against unidentified persons for allegedly glorifying separatism, after Mufti had posted a video of Geelani on social media, in which the late separatist leader was speaking about the Urdu language.
“I take full responsibility for a recent video on Urdu that I tweeted. It’s come to my notice that others who shared it are being summoned by @Cyberpolicekmr. Urge them not to do so and instead ask me whatever pressing questions they might have. I’m a law abiding citizen and will fully co-operate,” Mufti said in a post on X.
The FIR has been lodged under section 152 (acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Mufti also led the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) protest on Tuesday against the removal of Urdu as a prerequiste for recruitment for posts in the revenue department.
She also reacted to the scathing attack launched on her and her party by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who has accused the PDP of peddling “lies” regarding the status of Urdu to distract public attention from its “political alliance” with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“Strange that JK CM is casually brushing off an order issued by his own department ‘seeking’ public feedback on the sinister decision to remove Urdu as a mandatory requirement for Revenue Services. Don’t you know the cultural and historical significance of Urdu? How are you even comfortable ‘seeking’ feedback despite knowing the overwhelming sentiment?” Mufti asked.
Earlier in the day, Abdullah rubbished the allegation that the National Conference (NC) government in Jammu and Kashmir intends to drop Urdu as a mandatory subject for recruitment for posts in the revenue department.
He made it clear that the administration has merely sought public feedback on a departmental proposal that has been lying on his table.
Expressing surprise over the controversy, Abdullah took a swipe at Mufti’s understanding of administrative processes.
“She is a young girl, but she is educated. Do I have to teach her more?” he asked, adding, “There is a difference between asking for public comments and dropping a subject. The file of droppage is still on my table. I have not approved it.”
However, hitting back at the chief minister, Mufti asked Abdullah to use the same energy on cancelling such “shambolic ‘opinion poll’ orders to annihilate Urdu”.
“Hon’ble CM doesn’t the very act of ‘seeking’ opinion state your intention to initiate the process of striking off Urdu? We won’t let you erase our history. I don’t need tuitions, I’d much rather you use the same energy on cancelling these shambolic ‘opinion poll’ orders to annihilate Urdu,” she said.
