New Delhi, Aug 20: Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti lauded Atal Bihari Vajpayee, calling him a “messiah” for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“He was a great human being but for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, he was not less than a messiah,” Mehbooba said at the prayer meeting for Vajpayee in New Delhi on Monday.
“He was the first Indian leader who trusted the people of Jammu and Kashmir and whom the people trusted,” she added.
She said that Atal Bihari Vajpayee was able to “win the faith” of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in a very short span of time.
“He was the Prime Minister who won the faith of the people by holding free and fair elections,” she said.
Her statement comes two months since the BJP withdrew support to the coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir where it was in power with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since 2016.
Mehbooba also said that it was Vajpayee who had gone to Pakistan and made former president Pervez Musharraf say that they would not use the land of Jammu and Kashmir for militancy.
