NEW DELHI — Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday urged people across the country to defend the Constitution and their democratic rights, saying Jammu and Kashmir’s experience following the 2019 constitutional changes should serve as a warning for the rest of India.
Addressing a gathering at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister alleged that the Union Territory had suffered a loss of democratic rights and constitutional protections, and cautioned against what she described as attempts to weaken democratic institutions elsewhere in the country.
“We, the people of Jammu and Kashmir, have been destroyed. In 2019, they destroyed the Constitution. But now, you children, don’t let the whole country become Jammu and Kashmir,” Mehbooba said.
She argued that the constitutional changes in Jammu and Kashmir reflected what could happen elsewhere if constitutional safeguards and democratic institutions were weakened.
Referring to the right to vote, Mehbooba said the Constitution empowered citizens to elect governments and remove them through the ballot, but alleged that the ruling dispensation was attempting to take away that right.
“The Constitution has given you the vote to change governments. They want to snatch that right from you,” she said.
The PDP president also criticised the BJP-led government at the Centre, alleging that it was weakening constitutional principles despite, in her assessment, failing to secure a mandate to change the Constitution in the 2024 general elections.
She alleged that although the Constitution had not been formally replaced, efforts were being made to hollow it out.
Mehbooba also accused the government of favouring powerful business interests at the expense of ordinary citizens. She alleged that public assets built over decades were being handed over to select businessmen while poor families faced displacement and economic hardship.
Referring to the demolition of homes and the cutting of trees, she claimed that land was being made available to private business interests at throwaway prices, with little benefit reaching poorer sections of society.
She questioned the Centre’s record on employment generation and criticised changes to military recruitment, apparently referring to the Agnipath scheme.
The PDP chief also targeted the BJP over its Hindutva politics and raised allegations about donations collected in the name of the Ram temple. She alleged irregularities in the handling of donations, describing the matter as shameful. The supplied material does not provide details or evidence to substantiate these allegations.
Returning to the issue of constitutional rights, Mehbooba sought to link the concerns of people in Jammu and Kashmir with those of citizens elsewhere in India.
“We are with you in your struggle,” she told the gathering, expressing solidarity with those seeking to protect democratic institutions and constitutional guarantees.
Describing Jammu and Kashmir as central to the country’s identity, she called the region the soul of India and an embodiment of the “idea of India”. She said its people wanted to stand alongside fellow citizens in defending the principles on which the republic was founded.
Mehbooba concluded her address by reciting the patriotic verse “Sare Jahan Se Achha Hindustan Hamara”, drawing applause from the gathering.