Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 26: Three senior Jammu-based leaders of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) today resigned from the party saying the PDP has deviated from the agenda set by late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and they were feeling “uncomfortable and suffocated” because of the actions and utterances of the party leadership which are “unpardonable and unforgettable”.
The leaders who resigned from the party include Tarlok Singh Bajwa, former Rajya Sabha Member, Ved Mahajan, former MLC and Choudhary Hussain Ali Waffa, former State Secretary of the party.
They announced their resignation in a joint signed letter addressed to PDP president Mehbooba Mufti.
In the letter, they said, the PDP leaders, most of whom remained associated with party since its formation, are feeling quite uncomfortable over some of your (Mehbooba’s) actions and undesirable utterances which hurt the patriotic sentiments.
Asserting that late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, founder of the party, had twin objectives behind formation of PDP including creation of viable political alternative in Jammu and Kashmir to represent regional aspirations or the people and channelize dissent especially among youth and prevent them from falling in the trap of anti-India elements, the PDP leaders said: “In the absence of any credible platform to represent their genuine feelings, secularism and broader interests of the people of J&K and interests of the nation were underlying principles of the party”.
Due to this, they said, the party received an overwhelming response from the people and emerged as meaningful political force to attain power in a very short span of time.
“The coalition Government with Congress performed very well and delivered in accordance with the goals set forth and achieved a lot in restoration of peace, harmony and ensuring equitable political share and developmental needs of the different regions of the erstwhile beautiful Dogra State which is a composition of multiple diversities,” the PDP leaders said.
They added that the PDP accepted bigger challenge due to unique verdict of 2014 Assembly elections and experienced and visionary Mufti Mohammad Sayeed took difficult decision of joining hands with ideologically opposite BJP.
“Although Mufti Sayeed was aware of difficulties of such a decision but he attempted to convert the challenge into opportunities in furtherance of his vision for a better future and more harmonious relationship between the people of erstwhile State within the Indian Union,” they said and noted that the experiment didn’t work on expected line but the untimely death of Mufti Sayeed derailed the whole process and the developments that followed are a history and another phase of struggle.
They said instead of overcoming the challenges from within and outside by a process of broader consultations and trust, some elements within the party started pulling the party and leadership in a particular directions, thus deviating from the basic principles, agenda and philosophy, making it further difficult to face saner voices in the society.
Mehbooba on Friday had said she was not interested in contesting elections or holding the tricolor till the Constitutional changes enforced on August 5 last year were rolled back.
The PDP leader and former Chief Minister had also said that she would hold the tricolor only when the separate flag of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir was restored.
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