India Law Lok Sabha Elections 2024 National News Politics

Mehbooba Mufti Stages Protest, Claims Party Workers Barred From Voting

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and Lok Sabha candidate for the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat, Mehbooba Mufti, organized a sit-in protest, claiming that police were detaining her party’s workers and polling agents without providing any reasons. 

During the protest in Anantnag, Mufti questioned the police, asking why they were harassing her workers. She highlighted that the detention of her party workers began the previous night. Mufti also contrasted the current situation with the era of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, emphasizing his commitment to free and fair elections.

Mehbooba Mufti added that PDP workers were being detained across Anantnag. She expressed frustration, saying the Lieutenant Governor should have advised her against contesting the elections beforehand. 

Mufti also mentioned receiving complaints about malfunctioning voting machines. This comes after she had previously written to the Election Commission, accusing the police of detaining PDP workers and polling agents.

According to news agency PTI, Mehbooba Mufti also alleged that outgoing calls from her mobile number were abruptly suspended without prior notice. 

Mehbooba stated, “I have been unable to make any calls since this morning. No justification was provided for this unexpected disruption of services on the day of polling in the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency,”. 

The former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir posted on social media, highlighting the sudden suspension of her cellular service just before the polls.

Mufti’s Anantnag-Rajouri constituency is among the five constituencies in Jammu & Kashmir going to polls for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370. It is scheduled for voting in the sixth phase, which took place on Saturday. The constituency recorded an 8.89% voter turnout in the first two hours.

Following claims by PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti that party workers were being detained during polling for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat, the Jammu & Kashmir police has reacted by saying that the detentions were based on inputs of potential threat to law and order on the polling day

 An official stated, “Claims were made by a political party that their workers have been detained. Firstly, detentions are very few and restricted only to those who have a tainted past and based on credible inputs of potential threats to law and order and security on polling day. “Mostly, they are OGWs (overground workers) and are taken into preventive custody to ensure a safe and peaceful election.”

 

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