Mehbooba bowls fresh googly to trap J&K CM Omar Abdullah ahead of NC meet
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President and former Chief Minister Chief Mehbooba Mufti Tuesday bowled a fresh googly to trap J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah ahead of the much-hyped meeting of the ruling party legislators in Srinagar on June 3.
In a surprise development, Mehbooba Mufti reached out to a wide spectrum of political and civil society leaders, urging them to set aside differences and jointly engage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for initiating a sustained dialogue process on Jammu and Kashmir. She took a cue from the recent round of dialogue between the Ministry of Home Affairs and the representatives of the Ladakh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA).
In her communication to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Mufti wrote, “I had sought an appointment with you, but due to your preoccupation, it has not been possible.” Therefore, I am taking the liberty of writing to you since time is running out and we cannot afford to delay things any further. Recent breakthroughs achieved by the Leh Apex Body & Kargil Democratic Alliance with the Centre offer an important lesson – only dialogue can deliver meaningful outcomes.”
Cornered, Omar Abdullah responded to PDP president Mehbooba Mufti over her recent letter seeking a united political outreach to the centre, saying her communication created an impression that she had been awaiting an appointment for a long time, which was “clearly not the case”. In a post on X, CM Omar Abdullah said that Mehbooba Mufti had spoken to him on Saturday and requested a meeting. He stated that he informed her that he would be in Pahalgam on Sunday and would get in touch on Monday or Tuesday to fix a meeting.
“Mehbooba Mufti Sahiba, we spoke on Saturday when you asked to meet. I told you I was in Pahalgam on Sunday & would get in touch on Monday or Tuesday to fix to meet,” Omar Abdullah wrote.
The Chief Minister said Mufti’s letter gives the impression that she had been waiting for an appointment “for weeks on end”, which, he maintained, was not the reality. Omar Abdullah further noted that since Mufti’s letter had already been placed in the public domain, he would also issue his response through the same route after consulting senior colleagues in the National Conference.
“Be that as it may, your letter to me is now in the public domain, and I will be sending you a reply, similarly routed, once I’ve consulted my senior party colleagues,” the Chief Minister added.
In her letter addressed to Omar, Mehbooba Mufti wrote, “Jammu & Kashmir finds itself yet again at a crossroads in its history where the pervasive feeling of despair & disillusionment has gripped the state.”
It necessitates a broad consensus above & across party & partisan lines to pull J&K out of the current debilitating stalemate. “If we want to restore the dignity & security of our people, a constructive dialogue with the Government of India is a much-needed imperative. The time has come to make a united outreach to the Prime Minister & Home Minister and prevail upon them to initiate a sustained dialogue with the people of Jammu & Kashmir,” it reads.
Mehbooba added, “We have to keep our disagreements & contrarian views on the back burner to unite for the common good & collective welfare.” This cannot become a matter of appropriating political credit or point scoring. Rather, it must become a moment of unification in the largest interest of the people we all claim to represent.” “I therefore urge you as head of State to initiate the much-needed process of bringing all parties together through an official meeting.” This will set the ball rolling for us to formally reach out to the central Government. Given the fact that disagreements & squabbling between regional parties have been detrimental to the collective interests of J&K, a reasonable consensus, especially post-2019, is the only solution. “If Ladakh could do it, so can we,” it reads. Mehbooba Mufti also reached out to the leader of the opposition.
Sunil Sharma, JKPCC President Tariq Hameed Karra, CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, People’s Conference Chairman Sajad Gani Lone, MP Engineer Rashid, AAP leader Mehraj Malik, PDF Chairman Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen, Panthers Party President Harsh Dev Singh, Shiv
Sena (J&K) President Manish Sahni, Kashmiri Pandit leader Sanjay Tickoo and Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee Chairman Jaspal Singh.
