less than two weeks after Mehbooba Mufti resigned from Chief Minister’s post following withdrawal of support from the BJP, her People’s Democratic Party (PDP) suffered first bout of dissension on Monday after a senior leader heralded rebellion against the party leadership.
Former Minister and legislator from Pattan constituency of north Kashmir Imran Reza Ansari on Monday accused Mehbooba of being ‘incompetent’ that led to the collapse of her Government. Ansari said the coalition partner BJP lent every support to the government including ‘magnanimous central funding’ but Mehbooba was incompetent enough to throw it down the drain.
The PDP vice president Sartaj Madni described Ansari’s allegations as “unfounded and illogical.” The PDP-BJP coalition fell on June 19 when the BJP pulled out of the alliance citing the national interest. The state came under Governor’s rule on the next day.
Ansari, 44, was Youth Services and Sports Minister in Mehbooba’s cabinet and had voiced his displeasure over allocation of an insignificant portfolio several times during his tenure. He is scion of a powerful Shia dynasty holding sway on a section of minority Muslims in Srinagar and Baramulla districts. He inherited the leadership from his father Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari who died in 2014 and was one of the most prominent leaders of the PDP. like PDP founder Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, Ansari had quit the Congress to contribute in the making a vital regional party, which reached the echelons of power twice in last 20 years.
Imran was elected from his father’s pocket borough Pattan in north Kashmir while his uncle Abid Ansari was elected from Zadibal constituency of Srinagar. The dissention of Ansari’s would affect a huge loss to PDP, say observers.
Ansari said that Mehbooba not only failed the PDP as a party but also knocked down the hopes and the dreams of her own father and the PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
He said that blaming BJP for pulling the government down only for the sake of power was rubbish and that it was instead Mehbooba’s failure to lead the government efficiently.
He said that BJP supported the coalition government wholeheartedly and it was because of their endeavors that such a huge chunk of money was released to state for various developmental activities.
Ansari said the PDP and the government had off late been reduced to a family opera where the relatives would play protagonist and to continue with such a party was not only useless but a humiliation too.
The former IT minister said that he has now decided to distance himself from the party where the opinion of the senior leaders doesn’t carry any meaning. He however added that he has not resigned as a legislator or from the basic membership of the party as of now, but clarified that the party has lost its essence and being called the leader of such a party was itself meaningless.
Reacting Ansari's diatribe Sartaj Madni said that it was the sweet choice of Ansari to choose whatever path he may like. He said a political party founded by late Mufti Sayeed, has a well-defined unambiguous pro-people political vision and agenda for J&K.
Madni said Ansari's exit won't make any difference to the strong edifice of PDP.
He said the allegations against Mehbooba Mufti were unfounded and illogical.
Madni said the party leaders and cadre have full faith in Mehbooba Mufti's leadership and her commitment to the welfare and interests of all the peoples' of the state.
Madni questioned the moral authority of Imran Raza Ansari's latest utterances when he had been cabinet minister in the erstwhile PDP BJP coalition government for over three years.
Madni described Ansari's utterances as "contradictory, frivolous and akin to frustration for the reasons known to him only."