People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday said she feels the country is changing from what Mahatma Gandhi had envisioned to one that his assassin Nathuram Godse may have aspired to.
Citing the change in reaction to cheering for and celebration of India-Pakistan matches over the years, the former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister slammed the arrest of three Kashmiri students in an engineering college in Agra for allegedly cheering for Pakistan following India’s defeat during a group stage match between the two teams in the recently concluded T20 World Cup.
Mufti, who addressed an interactive session organised by the Indian Women Press Corps (IWPC) in Delhi, recalled a cricket match between the two teams when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) co-founder Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the country’s Prime Minister.
“I remember a cricket match between India and Pakistan during Vajpayee ji’s era, where citizens of Pakistan were cheering for India and citizens of India were cheering for Pakistan,” she said, adding that former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had also once praised the then Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
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However, she said, today, there was not a single lawyer ready to defend the three Kashmiri students who were arrested in Agra recently. “So, it feels like Gandhi’s India is turning into Godse’s India,” Mufti was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Godse had assassinated Gandhi on January 30,1948.
The Kashmiri students were arrested in the UP town following a complaint lodged by a BJP Yuva Morcha leader, Gaurav Rajawat. As per the first information report (FIR) filed, the students used anti-national slogans like “Bharat desh ke tukde honge” and applauded Pakistan by raising slogans such as “Pakistan Zindabad”.
Also Read | Mehbooba stages dharna at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, says Kashmir ‘in pain’
Soon after the incident, Mufti had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling for his intervention in the matter.
In the letter, the PDP chief said that a cricket match between the two countries was “solely a source of entertainment” for Kashmiri people but resulted in the youngsters getting booked for “simply choosing to cheer the winning side”.
Mufti had written that patriotism and a sense of loyalty need to be nurtured with compassion and cannot be forced by “wielding the baton or by the barrel of a gun”.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday said she feels the country is changing from what Mahatma Gandhi had envisioned to one that his assassin Nathuram Godse may have aspired to.Citing the change in reaction to cheering for and celebration of India-Pakistan matches over the years, the former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister slammed the arrest of three Kashmiri students in an engineering college in Agra for allegedly cheering for Pakistan following India’s defeat during a group stage match between the two teams in the recently concluded T20 World Cup.Mufti, who addressed an interactive session organised by the Indian Women Press Corps (IWPC) in Delhi, recalled a cricket match between the two teams when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) co-founder Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the country’s Prime Minister.“I remember a cricket match between India and Pakistan during Vajpayee ji’s era, where citizens of Pakistan were cheering for India and citizens of India were cheering for Pakistan,” she said, adding that former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had also once praised the then Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.Also Read | Mufti demands release of J-K students arrested for celebrating Pak cricket winHowever, she said, today, there was not a single lawyer ready to defend the three Kashmiri students who were arrested in Agra recently. “So, it feels like Gandhi’s India is turning into Godse’s India,” Mufti was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.Godse had assassinated Gandhi on January 30,1948.The Kashmiri students were arrested in the UP town following a complaint lodged by a BJP Yuva Morcha leader, Gaurav Rajawat. As per the first information report (FIR) filed, the students used anti-national slogans like “Bharat desh ke tukde honge” and applauded Pakistan by raising slogans such as “Pakistan Zindabad”.Also Read | Mehbooba stages dharna at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, says Kashmir ‘in pain’Soon after the incident, Mufti had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling for his intervention in the matter.In the letter, the PDP chief said that a cricket match between the two countries was “solely a source of entertainment” for Kashmiri people but resulted in the youngsters getting booked for “simply choosing to cheer the winning side”.Mufti had written that patriotism and a sense of loyalty need to be nurtured with compassion and cannot be forced by “wielding the baton or by the barrel of a gun”.