Amid clamour for Governor's rule in JK, Mehbooba to meet PM

With clamour for Governor's rule in Jammu and Kashmir growing, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is flying to New Delhi on Sunday, where she is expected to discuss the precarious situation in the state with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A war of words between the allies BJP and PDP at a time when recurrent violence, student protests and the video-war on social media has put the Valley in a precarious situation.

While the difference between PDP and BJP erupted after the latter defeated the candidate of the former instead of Congress on one seat of recently held Legislative Council elections, statements of BJP minister Praksh Chander that “bullets were the only way to deal with stone pelters” and BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav defending use of human shields by the army, has added fuel to the fire.

Mehbooba’s visit to New Delhi for a meeting of the Chief Ministers of the states where the BJP is in power or in a coalition comes at a time when BJP’s Core Group recently discussed the possibility of imposition of Central rule in the politically sensitive border state. The J&K CM is learnt to have sought a one-on-one with the Prime Minister to discuss the prevailing Kashmir situation and problems within the coalition.

The worsening situation in Kashmir especially since the April 9 by-poll that was marred by large-scale violence and killing of nine civilians in security forces firing, has set the alarm bells ringing in New Delhi with voices emerging that Centre should intervene to defuse the crisis.

To worsen the situation, the BJP-PDP gulf widened since last one week after the remarks of Chander and Madhav. In response PDP leaders have issued strong statements against the BJP putting Mehbooba in a tight spot.

PDP leader and education minister Altaf Bukhari while reacting to Madhav’s statement said such remarks amount to “legitimizing a crime that is internationally abhorred under covenants of human rights”.

Madhav had justified army’s strapping a Kashmiri youth to an army jeep as human shield in Budgam district, saying “everything is fair in love and war.”