ED quizzes mom, Mufti accuses govt of vendetta

In Modi’s New India, the summoning of whoever disagrees with the government and its divisive agenda and policies by the official agencies like NIA and ED has become a norm.

— Mehbooba Mufti, PDP chief

Gulshan Nazir, wife of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, was on Wednesday questioned by the officials of Enforcement Directorate (ED) at its Srinagar office in connection with a case of alleged money laundering.

Her daughter and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti, said that she was besides other matters asked questions and examined on the spending of secret funds by her (Mehbooba Mufti) as chief minister and the land owned by the family in hometown Bijbehara.

The ED sources said that Ms Gulshan was "examined" for "dubious use of official money and abuse of certain relevant legal provisions".

Ms Mufti who accompanied her mother to the ED office in Srinagar’s Raj Bagh area in compliance with a summons from it told reporters later that her mother “was questioned about our family land in Bijbehara and how it was sold and where was the money obtained utilized”. She added that the questions asked to Ms. Gulshan also pertained to the listing of widows to whom she was giving money and how she spent the money (from the chief minister's secret funds), if any, on the youth engagement.

She, however, alleged “In Modi’s New India, the summoning of whoever disagrees with the government and its divisive agenda and policies by the official agencies like NIA and ED has become a norm.” She said, “In my mother’s case, the chronology is quite clear. The last time she received summons was when PDP boycotted the Delimitation Commission followed by another summons when I staged a peaceful protest.”