3 min readJammuUpdated: Apr 4, 2026 04:18 PM IST
A 10-year-old “doodh and toffee” remark by former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on children killed in the 2016 firing by security forces at Damhal Hanjipora in Kulgam resurfaced in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Saturday, as Education Minister Sakeena Itoo blamed the PDP for the abrogation of Article 370 and the downgrading of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories.
Trouble erupted when the minister, replying to PDP’s Rafiq Ahmad Naik on school upgradation, held the party responsible for the region’s problems. She said school upgradation is “everybody’s concern” and noted that before 2014, the Omar Abdullah government had approved nearly 842 schools for upgradation.
After the PDP-BJP government took office in 2014, those proposals were put on hold, she said, adding that “it is easy to make statements, to target each other, and to create a show for the public, but the reality is different”.
Citing complaints about the lack of teachers, lecturers, professors and infrastructure, she said there has been no recruitment since 2019. “The difficulties and problems we are facing today, if there is any reason for them, it is this party,” she said, without naming the PDP. “Today, if we have been reduced from a state to a Union Territory… there is a reason for that, and it is this very party. And now… they are blaming the ministers that they are not doing their job”.
The government’s hands are tied, she told Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather. “There has been no recruitment since 2019; not a single appointment has been made in the education department,” she said.
“When we already lack teachers, skills, and infrastructure, how can we proceed with new initiatives? We do not know how to merely throw the papers for the sake of public display. We believe in practical work on the ground”.
Her remarks triggered a sharp response from PDP’s Waheed ur Rehman Para, leading to heated exchanges. Amid noisy scenes, Para counterattacked the National Conference-led government; his remarks were largely drowned out, though he was heard saying the minister held the portfolio despite failing to complete his MBBS course.
Story continues below this ad
Responding, Itoo said: “If today, J&K is not a state and has turned into UT, it is because of you. If there is no Article 370 today it is also because of you”.
As Para interrupted, she cited Mehbooba Mufti’s remarks on the Damhal Hanjipora killings, questioning why those killed had gone to the Army camp.
“Kya waha doodh aur toffee lene gaye they,” Mehbooba Mufti had asked while responding to criticism of her government.
Itoo repeated the remark several times, asking Para to “stop this drama”. “If we are facing problems today and we don’t have power it is because of your party,” she said. Holding the PDP responsible for the abrogation of Article 370 and J&K’s downgrading, she said, “we know everything and who has how many cold stores.” “Don’t teach us, we know who is guiding you and where from your syllabus comes,” she said, asking PDP legislators “not to make noise”.
