*PDP calls LP meeting on March 24
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Mar 21: In what could lead to a breakthrough in Government formation in Jammu and Kashmir, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow morning in New Delhi, where she reached this afternoon from Srinagar. Mehbooba has also called meeting of the PDP Legislature Party at her Fair View residence in Srinagar at 4 pm on March 24 to discuss political situation and the Government formation.
Political sources told the Excelsior that Mehbooba left for New Delhi this afternoon from Srinagar and will be meeting Modi tomorrow morning to discuss with him the Government formation and forward movement on ‘Agenda of Alliance’.
This will be her first meeting with top functionary of the Government of India, which comes close on the heels of her one-to-one meeting with BJP president Amit Shah last Thursday. Prior to that BJP general secretary and party’s pointman on Jammu and Kashmir, Ram Madhav had flown to Srinagar to meet Mehbooba.
Mehbooba and her party, the PDP, have already made it clear that they were not asking for anything new on the Government formation but only want forward movement on the `Agenda of Alliance’, which was agreed upon between PDP and BJP before formation of the Government on March 1 last year. However, the BJP was of the view that new conditions of the PDP were not acceptable to them.
Describing Modi-Mehbooba meeting as politically “very significant’’ especially after no headway was made during Shah-Mehbooba talks, sources said tomorrow morning’s meeting would be very crucial for both the parties as far as formation of new Government is concerned.
Mehbooba has also called the PDP Legislature Party meeting at her Fair View residence in Srinagar at 4 pm on March 24 to discuss the present political situation in the State and formation of new Government. She would brief the Legislature Party on her talks with Modi and Shah.
The PDP has so far not elected its Legislature Party leader after the death of then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on January 7.
The BJP leaders from Jammu and Kashmir, who had gone to New Delhi to attend two-days National Executive, returned this afternoon. BJP State president Sat Sharma CA said their schedule was to attend the Executive meeting and there was no other meeting slated with the party high command on the Government formation.
Former Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh told reporters in New Delhi today before returning to Jammu that the PDP has to take first call on the Government formation by electing the Legislature Party leader. He said the Government had been formed on the basis of ‘Agenda of Alliance’, which was meant for six years. The BJP, he added, was committed to the ‘Agenda’.
Meanwhile, National Conference working president and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today had half an hour long meeting with Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan here this evening during which he discussed political situation, presentation of budget and issues pertaining to his Assembly constituency.
Omar told reporters after the meeting that Mehbooba was right now making “last ditch effort’’ to save her party—the PDP from splitting by visiting New Delhi to meet BJP leaders on formation of the Government.
“There is an effort, right now, being made by Ms Mufti to save the PDP from splitting. She has realized that if she doesn’t form the Government on terms and conditions set by the BJP, her party will split and she will be in weaker position than what she is today,’’ Omar said but added that the National Conference didn’t want horse-trading of MLAs to take place in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The Jammu and Kashmir has been the worst victim of `horse trading’ in 1984. We have been suffering even today from that ‘horse trading’ in the form of militancy,’’ Omar said, adding his party was totally opposed to any kind of `horse trading’ of MLAs to form the Government in the State in the event of failure of PDP-BJP to form the Government.
“We have seen ‘horse trading’ in Arunachal Pradesh. Now, we are witnessing similar situation in Uttarakhand,’’ Omar, who met the Governor for the first time since the imposition of Governor’s Rule in Jammu and Kashmir on January 7, said.
However, he made it clear that he had sought an appointment for meeting with the Governor with whom he only discussed presentation of budget and issues pertaining to his Assembly constituency.
Describing Mehbooba Mufti as an “indecisive leader’’, the NC working president observed that if she can’t take a decision on formation of the Government, which was already in place between PDP and BJP, how would she take important decision while sitting on the chair of the Chief Minister.
Once again ruling out any kind of involvement by the NC in the Government formation, Omar said his party had decided to sit in the opposition for full six years but if there is no PDP-BJP or PDP-Congress Government, the Governor ultimately had to dissolve the Assembly and hold fresh elections in the State.
“We don’t want to push the State towards fresh elections. But if no party is in a position to form the Government, the Governor ultimately had to dissolve the Assembly and order fresh elections in the State,’’ he added and said his party wants PDP-BJP to form Government and let the National Conference play role of the Opposition.
He also took a dig at PDP and BJP saying both the parties have been holding discussions for the past two-and-a-half months and PDP has not asked for anything new.
“If you are not asking anything new, if this is only a misunderstanding, if the dialogue with Amit Shah was successful then why we have to wait for the formation of the Government’’? Omar asked.
“That is why I said if she (Mehbooba Mufti) is so indecisive as party president and God forbids she sits in the Secretariat and has to take decisions about the State, what will she do’’? he further asked.
Replying to a question on the Governor’s order to Army to vacate land at some places by March 31, Omar said it wouldn’t be good to give “political color’’ to the decision taken by the Raj Bhawan.
“Right or wrong, I will comment later. But if this decision was supposed to help in the Government formation, it should have been in place by now especially after the meeting between Amit Shah and Mehbooba Mufti,’’ Omar said.
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