Iltija Mufti Slams NC Over Alleged BJP Ties and Betrayal of Kashmiri People

In a bold and fiery critique, PDP leader Iltija Mufti has accused the National Conference of secretly siding with the BJP, claiming the party has sacrificed IIOJK’s dignity for power.

Iltija Mufti, a senior leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and daughter of party chief Mehbooba Mufti, launched a scathing attack on the National Conference (NC) during a press briefing in Srinagar on Tuesday.

She accused the NC of having a “tactical understanding” with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), implying that both parties may be cooperating behind closed doors for political gain.

According to Iltija, the National Conference has repeatedly compromised the interests of the Kashmiri people in exchange for political relevance and control. She claimed that the party has lost the moral ground to talk about public rights or special status, stating, “They are power-hungry and care a fig for the people of IIOJK.”

Her remarks come in response to recent NC statements regarding the restoration of statehood to IIOJK. While NC leaders have been vocal on the issue, Iltija dismissed their narrative as superficial and misleading.

“Our struggle isn’t just about becoming a state again,” she said. “We were a people with our own constitution and flag. Reducing that identity to a mere plea for statehood is not only shortsighted but an outright insult to our history.”

The PDP leader emphasized that the fight for IIOJK’s identity is about preserving its unique political and cultural legacy—not just seeking the reclassification of a Union Territory into a state.

Iltija also criticized NC patron Dr. Farooq Abdullah for recently supporting the Assembly Speaker’s decision to block a discussion on the Waqf law—a move she sees as another example of the NC’s selective silence on matters of public interest.

She argued that this silence, along with the NC’s reluctance to take a firm stand on key issues, points toward a larger political arrangement with the ruling BJP. According to Iltija, such behavior exposes the NC’s willingness to sidestep public concerns for the sake of maintaining political alliances.

In her closing remarks, she reiterated the PDP’s commitment to restoring IIOJK’s lost dignity and constitutional rights, sharply contrasting it with what she described as NC’s opportunistic politics.