Will Mehbooba Mufti Urge Rahul Gandhi to Stand Up Against Muslim Disempowerment?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Mehbooba Mufti calls for action against the disempowerment of Muslims.
- She presents alarming incidents as evidence of systemic targeting.
- The appeal highlights the need for unity in addressing social injustices.
- Mufti urges the opposition to uphold democratic values.
- Her letter serves as a challenge to the national opposition for greater accountability.
Srinagar, July 21 (NationPress) The former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and the president of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mehbooba Mufti, made an appeal on Monday to the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, urging him to raise his voice against the ongoing disempowerment of Muslims in India.
In her letter, Mufti emphasized the need for Gandhi to speak out against the systematic disempowerment of Muslims nationwide.
She referenced alarming incidents, including the Pahalgam attack, Operation Sindoor, and the forced displacements in Assam and Bihar, as part of a larger trend of state-sponsored oppression targeting the Muslim community.
The PDP leader expressed her concern regarding the use of derogatory labels such as “Bangladeshis” and “Rohingyas” to rationalize the eviction and harassment of Muslims, particularly in northeastern and eastern regions of India.
Highlighting recent media reports, she pointed out the demolition of thousands of homes and the initiation of “Special Investigation Reports” (SIRs) in Bihar, which she argued are being wielded as tools of collective punishment.
“This silence is an attempt to erase the Muslim presence both symbolically and literally,” she stated.
Mufti criticized the political class and national media for their selective outrage, which tends to spotlight Hindu persecution in Pakistan and Bangladesh while ignoring the plight of Muslims within India.
This selective empathy, she cautioned, threatens the secular and democratic principles of the nation.
She also invoked the legacies of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, urging the Congress party to uphold the constitutional values.
Mufti called on LoP Rahul Gandhi to leverage his influence and moral standing to “break the silence” and ensure that the issues faced by Muslims are not neglected by the opposition alliance during parliamentary sessions.
“As a politician from a Muslim-majority region, I often find myself helpless,” she wrote, expressing her “last vestiges of hope” in Gandhi’s leadership to counter the growing alienation and exclusion.
This letter comes as the opposition INDIA Bloc gears up to challenge the BJP-led government on various issues, including civil liberties, communal polarization, and increasing violence.
While the Congress party has yet to respond formally, political analysts view her letter as both a plea and a challenge to the national opposition to demonstrate greater courage and consistency regarding the rights of India’s largest minority.