National Conference and Congress today attacked PDP and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti over postponement of by-polls to Anantnag Assembly seat at the behest of the state government, saying it showed the ruling party was "petrified" of facing the people and had "accepted defeat".
"In an admission of how bad the situation is under @mehbooba_mufti the Election commission has been forced to postpone Anantnag by-election," NC's working president Omar Abdullah tweeted.
"It's an admission both of how bad things have become under @mehbooba_mufti & how petrified she is of facing the people in the by-election," the former Chief Minister said.
The election for Anantnag Assembly seat, necessitated because of the death of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was scheduled for May 16 but the Election Commission today postponed it after the state government flagged the issue of prevailing law and order situation in the state.
"In seeking the postponement of the election for the Anantnag assembly seat, Mehbooba Mufti has shown that she has panicked and is hiding behind the Election Commission.
"This desperate and evasive move shows how badly the Chief Minister is governing the state and is a formal admission of defeat by the PDP-BJP alliance," Omar said in a statement later.
He said the Chief Minister and her government were fearing rejection by the people during the bypolls. "The Chief Minister has evaded the very first formal referendum on the PDP-BJP Alliance and that's a very significant development."
Mehbooba was trying to escape the consequences of PDP's sell-outs and political surrenders under the fig-leaf of an allegedly 'non-conducive' situation, Omar said.
"When the Chief Minister is petrified of failing to seek an electoral validation to continue in her chair, the very credibility, mandate and writ of the Government becomes questionable.
"Knowing well that her party is facing a complete rout at the grassroots level, Mehbooba has chosen to run away from her very first test and that's tragic," he said.
He said the people of the state have rejected this alliance of convenience and have also seen how much of a failure it amounted to in its previous year in power.
"Mehbooba's spectacular U-turn on seeking Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) from the government has catalysed PDP's political obliteration. If she is so scared of facing the people, with what credibility and confidence will she rule the state," he asked.
