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PAGD not for petty electoral gains, but for restoration of special status of J&K: Mehbooba

Srinagar
January 12, 2021

PDP President Mehbooba Mufti on Monday asserted that the formation of Gupkar Alliance was not for petty electoral gains, but for the restoration of special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

"Amidst all the unnecessary speculation about PAGD, I did like make a few things absolutely clear. The purpose of this grand alliance is not for petty electoral gains. It exists for a much larger cause & purpose i.e to restore J&Ks special status," she said in a series of tweets. The PDP leader was apparently referring to reports in certain sections of media which claimed that some PAGD leaders were holding secret meetings with senior BJP leaders and Jammu & Kashmir Apni Party founder Altaf Bukhari.

"A lot of baseless theories are being deliberately floated to discredit PAGD amongst masses since they overwhelmingly voted for us in the DDC elections. Regardless of who fought how many seats, our purpose to deny BJP & its proxies democratic space has been achieved," she said. The People's Alliance for Gupkar declaration (PAGD) is an amalgam of several mainstream political parties seeking the restoration of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Mehbooba also said that the Centre was "deeply rattled" by PAGD, and warned that the situation might worsen with respect to the alliance leaders.

"Delhi is deeply rattled by PAGD so I expect this false campaign to intensify in the coming days. Many PDP leaders are already arrested & I expect the situation to worsen. But this will not break our resolve to stand united & fight for whats rightfully ours," she added on Twitter.