Despite facing heat from all the quarters, J&K Chief Minister Mufti Mohd Sayeed on Monday justified his comments crediting Pakistan, Hurriyat and militants for peaceful conduct of the Assembly polls. He also lashed out at the media for creating 'mountain out of mole hill'. "What I said, I stand by it,” Mufti told reporters after casting his vote for the Council election at the legislature Complex here. Shifting the blame on the media for highlighting portions of his statement, Mufti clarified, “The positive things that I spoke about yesterday were not highlighted. I said that the democratic right that Kashmir has got in the Constitution of India is because of the voter slip, that they have recognised.”
Mufti's daughter and People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti also defended him. "My father has not said anything wrong on Jammu & Kashmir elections as during the Assembly elections violence was less compared to Parliamentary elections," she added. Meanwhile, on Day 1 in office, Mufti chaired his maiden Cabinet meeting and took stock of the relief and rehabilitation effort mounted by the State Government in the wake of the September, 2014 floods.
The Cabinet decided to constitute a Cabinet sub Committee under the Minister in-charge of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department that will visit the affected areas in central, north and south Kashmir and the worst affected areas in Jammu division to assess the immediate long term needs of the affected population. The committee has also been tasked to interact with the organisations/associations of the affected traders, whose concerns need to be addressed immediately.
The Cabinet also reviewed the latest status of the spread of H1N1 in the State and the availability of medicines, protective kits and testing facilities. The Cabinet also decided to advise the Governor to call upon the elected members of the legislative Assembly to make and subscribe oath on March 17, 2015 and to appoint Mohammad Shafi Uri as Speaker Pro-tem to discharge the functions of the Speaker till the Speaker’s election is held.