Mehbooba Mufti likens Delhi clampdown to Kashmir’s 2019 lockdown
Says enforced silence cannot be passed off as consent
Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti said that the BJP-led Indian government would portray enforced silence as consent, drawing parallels between the heavy security clampdown in New Delhi and the sweeping restrictions imposed across Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
Mehbooba Mufti made the remarks amid heightened security curbs, road closures and train disruptions in New Delhi aimed at preventing demonstrators from marching toward Jantar Mantar to protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
“Today’s Delhi is a chilling reminder of Kashmir after the unconstitutional abrogation of Article 370. People were locked in their homes, the internet was shut down, and an entire region was placed under siege. The BJP then brazenly claimed that nobody had protested,” Mehbooba said in a post on X.
She said that after crushing the demonstrators in Delhi, the ruling establishment would claim that there were no protests.
“Today, with Delhi under siege, trains halted and roads to Jantar Mantar sealed, they may repeat the same lie, claiming that nobody protested against Gyanesh Kumar. First crush the protest, then deny it ever happened. This is how enforced silence is passed off as consent,” she added.
