Feeling “neglected” and “humiliated” at the hands of top brass of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), three time former MLA and Cabinet Minister Mohammad Khalil Bandh on Wednesday bid goodbye to PDP after tendering his resignation to the party president, Mehbooba Mufti.
Bandh was one of the senior PDP leaders from South Kashmir and served the party under the leadership of PDP Patron Mufti Mohd Sayeed for a long time. He resigned from the post of district president Pulwama and from the basic membership of the party. Bandh, who last served as Agriculture Minister, had won three Assembly elections since 2002 from South Kashmir Assembly segment.
Sharing his angst, Bandh in his resignation letter wrote, "the party had upended after Mufti Mohd Sayeed's demise,where the old/elected/experienced lot was not only neglected but humiliated to the core and a few men with parachute launching decided/dictated and shaped a disaster of where we stand today".
In his resignation letter, PDP leader also wrote, " it isn't an easy decision since I have been part of this party since long. But i do believe with conviction that a political party isn't worth continuing when the basic and founding principles are compromised, elected representatives are treated like naive men with a miniscule authority both within the Government and otherwise".
With his resignation, Bandh joined the club of around 10 senior PDP leaders who had already stepped out of the party accusing close aides of PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti of playing 'dirty' politics.