Modi in Kashmir: Ex-JK deputy CM Muzaffar Baig storms out of Prime Minister’s meeting. This is why
Former deputy Jammu and Kashmir CM Muzaffar Baig, one of several non-BJP leaders invited to Modi’s meeting in Srinagar, left in a huff before the Prime Minister even arrived at the Bakshi Stadium.
Modi in Kashmir: Padma Shri awardee and former Deputy Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Muzaffar Hussain Baig reportedly stormed out of the venue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally at Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar as he was upset over the seating arrangements at the event.
Baig, who was one of several non-BJP leaders invited to Modi’s meeting in Srinagar, left in disarray even before the Prime Minister arrived at the venue as “no separate (sitting) arrangement” had been made for Padma winners like him.
‘No separate seats for Padma winners’
Muzaffar Baig, accompanied by his wife and Baramulla District Development Council (DDC) chairperson Safeena Baig, reached the Bakshi Stadium ahead of the Prime Minister’s meeting and was taken to a seating area meant for BJP leaders and others. However, the couple stormed off minutes later.
Later, Safeena told reporters that it was unfortunate that there were no separate seats for Padma winners. “Baig is a Padma awardee and came here in that capacity. But it was very unfortunate that there was no separate arrangement for such winners,” she said.
“We came here to welcome our Prime Minister and thank him. I came here as (DDC) chairman. This is an official function and we wanted to be part of it,” Safeena Baig said, adding that she would take up the issue with the government.
Baig to BJP?
Asked about speculation that her husband, Muzaffar Baig, might join the BJP, she said politicians from different parties were present at the rally venue and it does not mean they are all joining the BJP.
“This is not a BJP function,” she claimed.
VIDEO| “Baig Saheb came here to welcome Prime Minister, but that does not mean he will join the BJP. He (Narendra Modi) is the Prime Minister of India. He is everyone’s Prime Minister,” said Safeena Baig, wife of former Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chairman CM Muzaffar Baig. pic.twitter.com/SaF1Ov74OC
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 7, 2024
Apni Party leader and former Srinagar mayor Junaid Azim Mattu, National Conference leader Pervez Qadri and People’s Conference leader Raja Ajaz Ali were among the politicians who attended Modi’s meeting.
Modi in Kashmir
The meeting, the first by a prime minister at Bakshi Stadium, took place under strict security arrangements. The town, south of Jhelum, was converted into a fortress and only people with a valid pass were allowed to enter the site.
This was Modi’s first visit to Kashmir since the Center abrogated Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile state and divided it into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh – on August 5, 2019.
(With PTI inputs)