Kashmir: PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti booked for violating poll code on voting day in Anantnag

Election authorities in Kashmir have registered an FIR against former chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti for violating the model code of conduct, officials said on Wednesday.

The FIR has been registered against Mehbooba for violating Section 144 after she and her party workers held a protest sit-in in the Bijbehara area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, the officials said.

The PDP president termed the registration of the FIR against her “amusing”.

“Amusing to find an FIR filed against me for apparently flouting MCC. This is the price the PDP has paid for speaking truth to power. Our protest was against the GOI (Government of India) in cahoots with the local administration for detaining hundreds of PDP polling agents and workers in the hours leading up to voting,” she said.

“Still not satisfied, the same administration went on to launch cordon and search operations in traditional PDP stronghold areas to terrorise our voters and prevent them from exercising their right to vote. Ulta chor kotwal ko daante (Pot calling the kettle black),” Mehbooba posted on X.

Read Here: Mehbooba Mufti faces a tough battle for political survival in hotly contested Anantnag-Rajouri

The officials said that the protest was a gross violation of the model code of conduct. “The huge group of PDP workers also blocked the main road and staged a protest at the main stop Bijbehara (for) more than one hour which amounts (to) violations of the Section 144, CrPC, which was imposed in the constituency,” the FIR said.

The election authorities had imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC from 6pm on May 23 till 6pm on May 25 due to polling in the constituency.

The prohibitory orders ban unlawful assembly or procession or rally to prevent any law and order problem.

Iltija cries foul

Later Mufti’s daughter, Iltija Mufti, who is also advisor to the PDP president, in a press conference said police had taken their young workers and polling agents into custody before the polling for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat.

“All this happened 10 to 12 hours before polling. Even the army started cordoning and carrying out search operations in the areas which are strongholds of the PDP. Our workers were declared as overground workers,” she said, adding, “Our workers kept the flag of Indian democracy flying in Jammu and Kashmir.”

“We tried to contact the local administration during the night but there was no response. Workers play a very important role to mobilise voters. They [administration] created fear in our strongholds as they wanted people shouldn’t come out to vote,” she added.