Senior leader Mushtaq Bukhari is in the headlines amid the ongoing political stir regarding the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections. BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh on Saturday compared Mushtaq Bukhari to Mahatma Gandhi and former South African President Nelson Mandela. He praised his efforts to get ‘freedom’ for the hill community in Jammu and Kashmir. It is known that Bukhari is 75 years old, whom the BJP has fielded from the ST reserved seat Surankot in Jammu region. While campaigning for Bukhari in the constituency today, Tarun Chugh praised him a lot. Chugh oversees the activities of the saffron party in Jammu and Kashmir.
Tarun Chugh said, ‘No one can forget the work done by Mahatma Gandhi. No matter which party comes to power, people cannot forget Nelson Mandela. Similarly, the work of getting freedom to the Pahari tribe has been done by Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela… Bukhari sahab.’ Let us tell you that Mushtaq Bukhari was associated with the National Conference for about 4 decades. He broke ties with the party in February 2022 due to disagreement with Farooq Abdullah on ST status for the Pahari community. 2 years later, on February 15, he joined the BJP. He cited his promise regarding this decision, which is to give ST status to the Pahari community.
He used to be close to Farooq Abdullah
Mushtaq Bukhari has been a two-time MLA from Surankot in Poonch district. He was once close to National Conference President Dr. Farooq Abdullah. People in the Muslim community know him as Peer Sahab. Bukhari is considered to have a lot of influence among the hill people, whose number is about 12.5 lakh in Rajouri, Poonch, Baramulla and Kupwara districts. During the budget session in February, reservation for hill ethnic tribes, Paddari tribes, Koli and Gadda Brahmins was approved in Parliament. It is known that voting is to be held in Surankot on September 25 in the second phase of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.
