JOIN USHours after the BJP decided to end its alliance with the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir, the PDP termed its decision "betrayal".
"There was a perception that Kashmir betrays Delhi, but we have proved it is Delhi which betrays Kashmir. The BJP took the decision to end the alliance for securing its interests for 2019 Lok Sabha elections," senior PDP leader and outgoing Works Minister Nayeem Akhtar said.
Akhtar, who is a close confidant of PDP president and outgoing chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, rejected BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav's allegations over the killing of veteran journalist Shujat Bukhari in Srinagar last week.
The saffron party blamed Mehbooba and the PDP for failing to improve the security situation in the Valley and Madhav cited Bukhari's killing in the heart of Srinagar — in the highly secured area of Press Enclave — as one of the indicators for it.
However, Akhtar, while countering Madhav’s assertions, said, "Everybody knows that who controls the army, paramilitary and police".
He said the PDP did not compromise on core political issues and that the party's positions over Article 370, Article 35-A and Kathua rape and murder case have stood the test.