Democracy murdered in 1987, not in 1984: Muzaffar Shah

Rameez Makhdoomi
Srinagar: Rebuffing the claims made by the Mubarak Gul, advisor Chief Minister that late Chief Minister Ghulam Muhammad Shah had made compromise on the power generation interests, the Awami National Conference senior leader Muzaffar Shah rejected the claims and termed them baseless. He also stated that his party and a group of civil society activists have filed Right to Information act in this regard to ascertain the facts.In a jam-packed press conference held at party headquarters Srinagar,Jammu and Kashmir Awami National Conference senior leader also stated that in this regard they have moved an application under J&K RTI act addressed to the Deputy Secretary Public Information Office PDD, J&K state, in Srinagar today for issuance of a certified copy of the cabinet decisions along with the relevant cabinet memos of 1985 of the G.M.Shah Government  in respect of  handing over state rights of the Salal Hydro Electric Power Project and other water resources to the central government along with the documents regarding the same subject matter pertaining to the cabinet decision of 1981 under the Chief Ministership of  Late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.He also rejected the claims of national conference that their party had murdered the democracy in 1984 by withdrawing the support from NC led government and called the rigged elections of 1987 as the murder of democracy. Reacting to allegations of Mubarak Gul, CM advisor Muzafer Shah said, “You have number of people of G.M.Shah cabinet with you as Ministers, Members of Parliament, MLA’s and office bearers of your party. How are they with you and if they have committed such sins and murdered democracy in 1984, how come you have accommodated them with dignity and honour?”.When this correspondent asked him whether he agreed with the view held by some sections that national power corporations are behaving like “East India Company” ,Muzaffar Shah replied that he agreed with the view point