NC leader snubs Ram Madhav, declines to meet him

A senior leader of regional National Conference (NC) Mian Altaf Friday snubbed BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav by disallowing him to visit his residence for a meeting.

Altaf, a veteran Gujjar leader, in a statement claimed that a local BJP leader Khalid Jehangir called him and told that Madhav will come to his residence for a meeting. “I told him (Jehangir) Thanks, but there is no need to come to my residence as I have nothing to do with them (BJP),” he said in a statement.

The NC leader alleged that the BJP may stage a drama to harm him and later blame militants. “Now, I want to convey it to my people besides who advised Mr Ram Madhav through that may be from the government side or BJP or any other side (they) want to stage any drama and then harm me and blame militants. People understand these things,” Altaf, also a former cabinet minister, added.

Despite repeated attempts, Khalid Jehangir was not available for the comment.

Madhav, who arrived in Srinagar on Thursday, has met senior J&K Apni Party members and People’s Democratic Party founding member Muzzaffar Hussain Baig, besides deliberating on the current political scenario in the Valley with his own party colleagues.

The visit comes at a time when four main regional parties of J&K and two national parties last week issued a statement, reiterating their commitment to 4 August 2019 ‘Gupkar Declaration’, which binds its signatories to put up a joint fight to restore Article 370 in the erstwhile state.