These days former Chief Minister and president of the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti is seizing every opportunity to defend the "farsighted" decision of her late father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to form the government with BJP after the 2014 assembly in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
In every public meeting and media interaction, Mehbooba Mufti is trying to make it a point to highlight reasons for allying with the BJP in J&K.
Mehbooba Mufti has reason to defend her party's decision to ally with BJP because some forces in Kashmir Valley have created a narrative that it was all due to PDP's alliance that BJP has managed to sneak into Kashmir Valley in particular and Jammu and Kashmir in general.
These forces have been trying to create an impression that it was all result of PDP's alliance that BJP took control of J&K and abrogated articles 370 and 35-A.
Addressing a function at Srinagar on Saturday, Mehbooba Mufti said that BJP is at forefront of spreading propaganda that she brought them in Jammu & Kashmir.
"The BJP, Jan Sangh, and RSS are at the forefront of spreading propaganda that I brought them in Kashmir but BJP knows that I have kept your hands tied and didn't allow you to speak," said Mehbooba.
"My father allied with BJP on his own terms"
Defending her father's decision to ally with BJP, the PDP chief on February 15 said that her father Mufti Muhammad Sayeed allied with BJP on his own terms and conditions.
Asked if her party's alliance with the BJP after the 2014 assembly elections was a mistake, Mehbooba said her father took the decision after carefully considering it.
"My father took a very well-thought-out decision. He wanted to prevent this situation. Till we had a coalition government, nothing like this had happened. After the government fell, they repealed Article 370 and took other steps," she said.
She repeated a similar statement while addressing a meeting at Jammu on Sunday.
"During the coalition we never allowed BJP to pursue its agenda"
To counter the campaign against her party, Mehbooba said that during coalition with BJP, PDP controlled the Saffron Brigade from pursuing its agenda. "For one year, Mufti sahib was the chief minister and I was the chief minister for two years. We implemented our agenda, the Jammu and Kashmir agenda," she said.
Mehbooba claimed that she would have continued to be the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir even today had she followed the BJP's line. "Since I did not, they pulled out of the government," she said.
Defending Mufti Sayeed's decision to ally with the BJP, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said her father had caged the beast and stopped it from wreaking havoc.
"No one understands that Mufti sahib had caged the beast. He had caged the BJP," she said.
"It took Mufti sahib three months to form the government. We have been accused of bringing the BJP into Jammu and Kashmir but how would one stop them? They had the majority in Parliament, they won the majority of seats in Jammu province also", she said.
