Mehbooba Mufti's PSA dossier mentions 'daddy's girl' and 'Kota Rani' as charges

Mehbooba Mufti, the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir as compared to 'Kota Rani' and was referred to as 'Daddy's girl' in the dossier prepared by the J&K administration as charges. The former BJP ally was booked under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) on February 6, after being detained without a trial for six months after the abrogation of Article 370. 

Kota Rani was the last ruler Hindu Lohara dynasty in Kashmir. She was then deposed by Shah Mir, who became the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir. The Queen of Kashmir, as per the dossier, "rose to power by virtue of undertaking intrigues ranging from the poisoning of her opponents to ponyardings."

"The subject (Mehbooba Mufti) is referred for her dangerous and insidious machinations and usurping profile and nature by the masses as "Daddy's girl" and "Kota Rani" based on profile a historical medieval queen of Kashmir, who rose to power by virtue of undertaking intrigues ranging from poisoning of her opponents to ponyardings. Her divisive approach and potential and its spill over to the other parts of the country are reflected by her following pronouncements," a portion of the dossier shared by Mehbooba Mufti's Twitter handle read. 

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Condemning the charge, Mehbooba Mufti's daughter who is currently handling her Twitter account said, "Not unusual that she (Mehbooba Mufti) adored, respected and loved her father. They had an unshakeable bond and were each other’s closest confidante. Which is why she honoured Mufti sahab's commitment after his sudden death in 2016. Didn't know loving your parent constitutes a crime." [sic]

Mehbooba Mufti, along with National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah was booked under PSA barely hours prior to the end of their preventive detention. The PSA allows authorities to detain an individual without a trial for two years. Previously, the five-term chief minister of J&K and Srinagar MP Farooq Abdullah was booked under PSA. Mehbooba, the daughter of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was sworn as the first woman chief minister of the then state on April 4, 2016, in alliance with the BJP. The coalition crumbled in 2018, following which the state was put under the Governor's rule. 

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PSA Dossier 

Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were among the six mainstream Kashmiri leaders charged under PSA on the night of February 6. As per rules, the preventive detention can be extended beyond six months only if an advisory board, constituted two weeks before the completion of the 180-day period, recommends for that. 

However, no such board was constituted and the Jammu and Kashmir administration was left with two choices -- either to release them or slap the PSA. Authorities cited proceedings of internal party meetings and social media influence of NC leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah and "pro-separatist" stand of Mehbooba Mufti for booking them under the stringent PSA. 

Incidentally, Omar Abdullah's last tweet on August 5, 2019, on the day when J&K was stripped off its special rights by revoking Article 370, called for peace. "Please don’t take the law into your own hands, please stay calm," the former J&K chief minister said. 

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Restrictions have been put on communication links since August 5. These were subsequently eased. The Internet is functional at a few places through leased lines. Mobile internet facility has been made functional but with a speed of 2G with special instructions that it would not be used to access social media sites. However, the police have not specifically mentioned any of Omar Abdullah's social media posts in the dossier. "To the people of Kashmir, we don't know what is in store for us.......stay safe and above all please stay calm," was the last few tweets of the former CM of J&K before he was taken to Hari Nivas for preventive detention.

(With PTI inputs)