Lone slams NC-PDP-Cong coming together

Peoples Conference (PC) chief Sajjad Lone on Friday said that he staked claim to form the government in Jammu and Kashmir, as he possessed the required number of legislators in the Assembly.

He said this while terming the coming together of the PDP, the NC and the Congress in the state as an “opportunistic alliance”.

“The PDP and the NC consider Jammu and Kashmir their fiefdom and would never allow any other group to emerge,” Lone flanked by PDP ‘defector’ Imran Ansari told reporters, in Srinagar.

The separatist-turned-mainstream leader, who was a minister in the previous PDP-BJP alliance, said his PC had emerged as an alternative to the traditional politics of “exploitation and misrule practiced by the twin-family political monopoly that has used political blackmail and expedient ideological ambiguity to deprive the state of peace and prosperity.”

While lashing out at those who question him for allying with the right-wing BJP, he said, “I have been questioned for tying up with the BJP. It's not a crime. The process of joining the BJP bandwagon started with Omar Abdullah, who was a poster boy for Vajpayee government. And What about Mehbooba ji, she was in power for last three years with the help of the BJP only.”

Lone challenged Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti to knock the doors of court over the dissolution of state legislative Assembly.

“The PC claimed the stake (to form the government) as it has numbers. Even after having numbers we have accepted the decision taken by the Governor Satya Pal Malik to dissolve the state legislative Assembly,” he said.

“I challenge the PDP chief to prove her majority on the floor of the house. Has anyone read her letter? I challenge her to take that letter to any lawyer and get relief from court. I would have proven my majority if given a chance," he said.

The PC chief claimed that the PDP was not serious to form the government.

“The alliance they claimed to form to protect Article 35A and Article 370 was a blatant lie. I want to ask them to at least stop lying to the people. This alliance was to be formed as the parties believe that Jammu and Kashmir is their heritage and they won’t allow any other party to form the government,” he said.