People being "threatened" to vote for "particular candidates", alleges Mehbooba Mufti

Rajouri (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], May 21 : Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti alleged on Tuesday that some groups are trying to "threaten" and pressuring people to vote for some particular candidates in the Lok Sabha elections.
She alleged that one group is threatening people through fatwas (religious rulings) while the other group is threatening in the name of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Mufti said, "I met a lot of delegation here in Rajouri...I have observed that the situation that has been created is very scary. Religious Fatwas are being issued by one group, that if you don't vote for a particular candidate you will go to hell."
"While the other group is blackmailing people in the name of BJP...we heard several officers are being threatened to vote for a particular candidate or else they would be transferred...but even BJP knows the candidates, they are seeking votes for, will have their deposits seized," she added.
The People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief is contesting from the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency.
Polling on the seat will be held on May 25. The counting of votes is scheduled for June 4.
The former CM also said that there is a huge distress due to high youth unemployment in the UT.
"There are many educated unemployed youth. The unemployment rate is 35 per cent...they were hyping about abrogation of Article 370. But, there has been no rise in the scale of recruitment post that," she added.
Notably, despite PDP being part of the INDIA bloc, the National Conference nominated Mian Altaf Ahmad from the seat against Mehbooba Mufti.
This is the first general election in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.
Earlier on Sunday, the former J-K CM appealed to the Kashmiri Pandit community to vote for her in the Lok Sabha elections, affirming that she has an idea about the 'trauma' Kashmiri Pandit community had to face in the early 1990 insurgency that led to their mass exodus from the valley.
She said that her father, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, always ensured that the relationship between majority and minority communities must be maintained in Jammu and Kashmir.
"I understand your pain. I have an idea of how older people might feel when they miss Kashmir. The beginning of the pain was from our house. We also have faced a lot. My father thought that the relationship between majority and minority must be maintained. This is the reason he made a lot of effort when he became the CM. I was raised in Kashmiri Pandits' homes. I understand how important it is for all of us to live together," Mufti said at a public meeting with Kashmiri Pandits community
"I know the trauma of Kashmiri Pandits, as they want to come back to their homeland. Mufti Sahab was very saddened by what happened to Kashmiri pandits," she added.