SRINAGAR, Dec 26: People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti on Friday lost her cool with a journalist who asked her to speak in Urdu instead of Kashmiri during a press conference at the PDP headquarters in Srinagar.
As soon as she began her press conference in Kashmiri, a journalist requested her to speak in Urdu. The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister responded sharply, asking, “Do you want a translation? Why? Translate it. Why don’t you ask Stalin to speak in English or Urdu?”
Mufti’s retort referred to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, who speaks only Tamil, his native language. She further urged Kashmiri journalists to “show some respect” for their language.
“This is the only thing that is left now, so respect the Kashmiri language a little,” the former chief minister said, before continuing her address in her mother tongue.
Mufti also spoke about the lynching of two Hindu youths in separate incidents in neighbouring Bangladesh, drawing a parallel with the situation in India. “The intolerance in the entire country has increased. Lynchings are taking place. What is happening in Bangladesh pains us, but those who criticise it remain mute spectators when lynchings take place here,” she told reporters.
The PDP chief further urged the Jammu and Kashmir government to send ministerial teams to various states to ensure the “safety” of Kashmiris living there. “Our government should send a ministerial team to every state and especially to Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, where most of such incidents take place,” she said.
Mufti’s remark came in the wake of an alleged assault on a Kashmiri trader in Uttarakhand. She also took credit for the arrest of the accused, saying, “I immediately put out a tweet and tagged the Uttarakhand DGP, seeking his intervention. That is why the accused was arrested. There are still some officers in the police who respond. But three incidents took place in 72 hours? In Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. What is happening is distressing”.
