Sir — The decision by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to pull out of the Jammu & Kashmir’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) can be seen as a political move with an eye on the 2019 General Election but the step might have been taken in the national interest, though it will have a wider implication. The Central Government realised that to resolve the Kashmir’s conundrum they need a free hand and leaving a vacuum in the Valley could be dangerous. The situation in Jammu & Kashmir escalated to a scenario where holding talks and meetings with several stakeholders was getting ‘untenable’.
Several steps taken by the Government to initiate a dialogue were welcomed with a cold heart. Although a celebrated alliance, the BJP-PDP have seen an unhappy ending to their relationship which soured due to different political reasons like the Kathua case, talks with the separatists and the Ramadan ceasefire among others. The recent killing of Shujaat Bukhari, the Editor-in-chief of the Rising Kashmir was the last nail in the coffin which provoked the BJP’s national executive to call it a day and dissolve the Assembly by letting the President impose the Governor’s rule.