PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti refuses to unfurl the national flag, BJP demands arrest for her seditious remarks

The Jammu and Kashmir BJP on Friday demanded the arrest of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti for her seditious remarks wherein she said she would only hold the national tricolour only when the Jammu-Kashmir state flag ‘comes back’. In an act of defiance, Mufti kept the flag of the erstwhile J&K state on a table in front of her along with that of her party during the press meet.

Addressing a press conference, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Friday, said, “My flag is this (points to the flag of erstwhile J&K state kept on the table). When this flag comes back, we’ll raise that flag (tricolour) too. Until we get our own flag back, we won’t raise any other flag. Our relationship with the flag of this country is not independent of this flag (Jammu and Kashmir’s flag). When this flag comes in our hand, we will raise that flag too.”

Reacting to Mufti’s refusal to raise the tricolour, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said, “Mehbooba Mufti claims to be a mainstream politician but she has reservations in carrying the tricolour. We’ve maintained for the last several years that Kashmir’s so-called politicians sometimes tend to be more dangerous than apparently identified separatists.”

“I request Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to take cognisance of seditious remarks of Mehbooba Mufti, book her for the seditious act and put her behind bars,” Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina told reporters.

“We will sacrifice every drop of our blood for our flag, country and motherland. J-K is an integral part of our country, so only one flag can be hoisted in J-K and that is the national flag,” he said. Raina said the party will not tolerate such “nefarious designs” aimed at instigating the people of Kashmir.

“I warn leaders like Mehbooba Mufti not to instigate the people of Kashmir. We will not allow anyone to disturb peace, normalcy and brotherhood. In case anything wrong happens, she will have to face the consequences,” he said. If Kashmiri leaders are feeling insecure in India, they can go to Pakistan and China, he added.