Attempts to revive the BJP-PDP coalition in Jammu & Kashmir remained a non-starter on Friday with the BJP making it clear that the Government cannot be formed on the basis of new conditions.
A day after PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti met BJP president Amit Shah in the national Capital, the informal talks could not lead to a breakthrough. The talks were stuck at the same juncture where they were soon after Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed’s death in January, when his daughter Mehbooba refused to play ball and persisted with her delaying tactics without saying “no”.
BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, the party’s pointsman in the State, said conditions could not be the basis for Government formation as these could be taken up after the Government is formed.
“There is no progress. As far as we are concerned there is no change in the conditions that existed when Mufti sahib was the Chief Minister. The only change is that Mufti sahib is no longer there and it was for the PDP to appoint a new leader and carry on,” he told newspersons.
Answering questions on the Mehbooba-Shah meeting, Madhav said, “There is no change in our stand. We have told them that a new Government should be formed on the basis of conditions that existed earlier. A State Government always has the right to make demands on the Centre. A Government cannot be formed on the basis of
conditions.”
It is understood that Mehbooba’s delaying tactics were a way of her addressing the PDP’s core constituency in the State and giving signals that she was tough on the BJP and “would not compromise on the State’s interest.” A low turnout of people during the late Chief Minister’s funeral apparently prompted Mehbooba to re-calibrate her strategy towards Government formation.
The PDP with 27 MlAs and the BJP with 25 members had formed an alliance on March 1 last year with Mufti as the Chief Minister. Both the sides had formed an “Agenda of Alliance” with a common minimum programme as its basis.
In Srinagar, sources in the PDP said the party would prefer to face the electorate in fresh Assembly elections rather than realigning with the BJP in the absence of any written Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs) and their time-bound implementation by the Centre.
Sources said Mehbooba has been seeking a written assurance on the implementation of the CBMs, which include transfer of power projects owned and operated by power giant NHPC to J&K, repeal of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, sufficient funding to development projects including smart cities for Srinagar and Jammu, besides guarantee on political measures, including talks with separatists and Pakistan.
Sources said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not accepted the PDP’s demands. “It is not that the PDP is adamant on its stand on Government formation, the fact is that the PM is not ready to budge. He is not willing to give any special concessions”, a disgruntled PDP leader told The Pioneer.
“It seems the game is over. There is no possibility of Government formation”, the leader said.
Sources said the Governor’s administration took a slew of measures during the past two months, indicating that the BJP-led Government at the Centre was not willing to give any further ground to the PDP.
The Governor’s initiatives included revision of National Food Security Act’s implementation, withdrawal of armed forces from certain sites in Srinagar as well as Jammu and ladakh regions, action against corrupt officials, dismissal of 100 absconding doctors and regularisation of ad-hoc and temporary employees.