JOIN USNo headway yet in J&K government formation
Uncertainty over government formation in Jammu and Kashmir continues on Friday as PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti gave contradictory statements on the issue after meeting Governor N N Vohra.
Addressing party workers in Jammu, she said, “If I feel that the Centre is working in the interest and welfare of the state, I will have no objection in forming the government (with BJP).”
Mehbooba also denied that she was adamant over pre-condition that the BJP should first initiate confidence building measures (CBMs) before the government is formed.
Justifying Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) earlier decision to ally with the right wing party, she said that her father late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed wanted to showcase Jammu and Kashmir, the country’s only Muslim majority state, as a symbol of communal harmony.
“He (Mufti) wanted to have peace on the borders with Pakistan. I want to carry forward the agenda of late Mufti Sahib. While doing so, if even our critics forbade us to form government with BJP, I will go against them,” she said.
“I am waiting for a message about the Centre’s willingness to address the issues of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. This government will not be between PDP and BJP but with PDP and the Centre. What I am waiting for is their readiness to accept and address the issues agreed upon in the Agenda of Alliance by the two parties,” Mehbooba added.
However, the firebrand PDP chief warned that in case the BJP is not ready to respect the aspirations of people of J&K, “then I would say no to government formation.”
While making a veiled attack on the BJP-led Central government for its alleged Hindutva agenda, she said, “The alliance in J&K could break if the BJP did not discard its communal politics.”
She further said that becoming a chief minister was always a dream “but not at the cost of interests of the people.”
“I will be the happiest person if I will be chief minister. But if I feel BJP has nothing other than the hollow promises, I will never be ready to form a coalition government with BJP,” she said.