PDP is garbage free now, seek apology for ‘milik,tofee’remark: Mehbooba

Bijbehara: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday apologized for her ‘toffee’ remark, saying she was concerned for ‘her children being pushed to rallies where they got injured’.
“Didn’t I have this right to tell these children in a loud voice that you were part of my rallies… why were you asked to stand in the front of those rallies (protest demonstrations) where you, God forbid, got injured,” said Mehbooba while addressing her workers on the death anniversary of her father Mufti Muhammad Sayeed. “I still apologise if anyone was hurt,” she said: “What else can I do?”
Mehbooba was widely criticised for her comment during 2016 uprising that the “youth were not going to army camps and police stations to buy toffee and milk”.
She made the comment while addressing a press conference in Srinagar along with Home Minister Rajnath Singh at the peak of the uprising triggered by July 8 killing of militant commander Burhan Wani.
She invited the youth to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying that her party was “free of garbage now”.
“From this platform, I want to invite the youth of Jammu and Kashmir who are educated and interested in resolution of the Kashmir issue to come and join us,” said Mehbooba.
“All the garbage in the party has gone out with the wind,” she said while referring to a spree of resignations of her party leaders.
She alleged that those who deserted the party created the disturbances when she had put forth some conditions before BJP after the death of her father. “These deserters went to Nagpur and assured them they will set aside Mehbooba and will form a Government with BJP,” she said.
Mehbooba Mufti said that she had asked BJP to return the power projects and withdraw army from Tatoo Ground, Anantnag High Ground and in Ladakh. “But those who created disturbances in the party approached Nagpur to sideline me. They forced me to compromise,” she said.
She asked the youth to help her to take the state “out of this misery”.
Defending her recent visit to the family of a slain militant in Pulwama, she wanted to send across a message that the families of the militants shouldn’t be harassed.
“A girl was being harassed there, it was question of her honour. I thought my visit to the family would send a message to the government that if we have to fight the militants we don’t have to harass their families,” she said.