Row over Mehbooba holding Tricolour upside down
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Mehbooba Mufti has once again sparked a political furore after she was spotted holding the National Flag upside down during a protest in Srinagar on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the Abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A.
The incident drew sharp criticism from the ruling party, with Union Minister Giriraj Singh calling her a “terrorist”.
Hitting back, PDP MLA Waheed Ur Rehman Para on Wednesday termed Union Minister Giriraj Singh’s remarks describing former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti as a “terrorist” as “outrageous” and “irresponsible”. In a post on X, Para posted, “Giriraj Singh’s remarks calling PDP President Mehbooba Mufti a “terrorist” are outrageous, irresponsible, and beneath the dignity of a Union Minister. Such language against a former Chief Minister of J&K and a senior Muslim woman leader reflects nothing but prejudice and political intolerance. This is not a political statement; it is a reflection of Giriraj Singh’s own mindset”. Singh also claimed that the BJP had tried to reform Mufti during its alliance with the PDP. “Since there was no improvement, we let her go,” he said.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also reacted cautiously when he was asked to comment on the controversy.
“You have to ask this question from her. It must be a mistake. I cannot believe that a person who served as a CM would deliberately display the flag of the country upside down. I don’t think it would have been done deliberately. It must be a mistake.”
Interestingly, Chief Spokesman of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference and a close aide of Omar Abdullah, Tanvir Sadiq claimed,
“There are only two possibilities — either Mehbooba Mufti deliberately displayed the national flag upside down, or she did not know the proper protocol despite having served as Chief Minister”.
