Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Friday accused the central government of acting against the people of Kashmir. She said that New Delhi appears to be preparing to “rob Kashmiris of whatever was left to protect their unique identity”.

In a series of tweets, the PDP chief said: “Mufti sahab (her father and former CM) would always say that whatever Kashmiris will get, it will be from their own country India. But today the same country seems to be preparing to rob them of whatever little is left to protect their unique identity.”

While Mufti wasn’t explicit about the reasons behind her statement, reports suggest that regional political parties — PDP and NC — in the state are suspecting that the Centre may be preparing to scrap the contentious Article 35A. The apprehensions began after the central government deployed 38,000 troops — 10,000 in the first batch and 28,000 in the second — in two batches.

Adding to the confusion was the state administration’s advisory asking Amarnath pilgrims to curtail their stay in the state and return as soon as possible. “Keeping in view the latest intelligence inputs of terror threats, with specific targeting of the Amarnath Yatra, and given the prevailing security situation in the Kashmir Valley, in the interest of safety and security of the tourists and Amarnath Yatris, it is advised that they may curtail their stay in the Valley immediately and take necessary measures to return as soon as possible,” the advisory said.

Senior leaders from PDP and NC have repeatedly warned the Centre of serious ramifications if it moved to abrogate Article 35A that gives the state power to decide the residents of J&K. However, the top BJP leadership has maintained that Articles 370 and 35A have created hurdles in the economic progress of the state, and therefore need to go.

In an apparent reference to the central leadership, Mufti said that they failed to win over the love of a single Muslim majority state which rejected division on religious grounds and chose secular India. “The gloves are finally off and India has chosen territory over people,” the former chief minister said. These words come just days after she had said that whosoever tries to fiddle with the special provision will be “burnt to ashes”.

Recently, J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik tried to allay fears in the Valley over the government planning any move against the said laws and said that the people should not pay heed to any rumour. “Everything is fine, everything is normal,” he had said.