Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 29
Blaming the National Conference and the PDP for “creating a noise” in the Valley over the deployment of an additional 10,000 security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir, Union Minister Jitendra Singh today said the move was part of a security drill and that the two parties were distressed “as they can feel they are losing the people’s mandate”.
Speaking to the media here, he said: “The additional deployment is for security arrangement… They (political parties) have been carrying forward their legacy with 8-10 per cent voter turnout. They are scared if the situation changes their sovereignty built in the last 30-40 years will come to an end.”
He highlighted the government’s action against alleged corruption in the J&K Bank and said big names were about to come up in connection with the alleged scam. “These parties are worried… they know that they will be exposed.
They are distressed about that,” he said. The Centre had recently announced 100 more companies (10,000 personnel) of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) for the state. It had said the troops were being deployed to strengthen the counter-insurgency grid and law and order duties in the Valley, as it had received Intelligence input regarding infiltration.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti tweeted: “In light of recent developments that have caused a sense of panic amongst people in J&K, I’ve requested Dr Farooq Abdullah sahab to convene an all party meeting. Need of the hour is to come together & forge a united response. We the people of Kashmir need to stand up…”