The suspense over Government formation in Jammu & Kashmir continued on Tuesday as Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti asked the Centre to announce tangible confidence building measures (CBMs) to create an atmosphere conducive for Government formation in the State and fill the void created by the departure of Mufti Muhammad Sayeed from the political landscape.
Without spelling out the nature of the CBMs, Mehbooba urged the Central Government to stand “rock solid” behind the people of the State to tackle the numerous challenges ahead. However, she remained non-committal over the time frame for the formation of the coalition Government in the State.
Mehbooba’s statement came soon after her meeting with J&K Governor NN Vohra, who had stepped in to break the month-long impasse between the two alliance partners after Mufti’s death.
On Tuesday Vohra held separate consultations with Mehbooba and BJP leaders, including former Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, who said the BJP will take any step only after the PDP elects its legislature Party leader and notifies the Governor about it.
The BJP asked the Governor for ten days’ time to “resolve whatever is outstanding” with the PDP. Earlier, emerging out of the meeting with Vohra here in Jammu, Mehbooba told reporters outside the Raj Bhavan, “J&K is different from other States. It needs a good atmosphere, space and a fillip if a new Government is to be formed.”
She said, “I don’t have the vision that the late Mufti had, neither do I have the experience right now. Before formation of a new Government, I want the Central Government to take tangible confidence building measures for the State.”
Striking an emotional chord, Mehbooba said, “Mufti Sahib used to say he didn’t join hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he joined hands with the people of the country who elected him.”
She said her late father, without bothering about his “political career”, had aligned with Modi in the hope that the Centre would bring out the State from the difficult situation it is in.
“So now, before the formation of the new alliance Government, all I want is for the Centre to announce a few CBMs to win the confidence of the people of the State. J&K faces numerous challenges and we need full support from the Government of India to tackle the situation,” she added.
Mehbooba refused to specify what kind of CBMs she was looking for and what her stand was on the PDP’s differences with the BJP over certain contentious issues.
She said the alliance partners have the ‘Agenda of Alliance’, and the same was drafted at the highest level by the two parties and would be implemented. “During my meeting with the Governor I clarified the position of my party for forming a new alliance Government,” she said.
After her departure, State BJP chief Sat Paul Sharma along with former Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh and MP from Jammu-Poonch Jugal Kishore Sharma met Governor NN Vohra to explain their position over the issue of Government formation.
After the meeting Nirmal Singh told reporters: “We are in favour of continuing this alliance with the PDP. We have asked the Governor to give us time so that we can resolve whatever is outstanding (with PDP). We have sought ten days’ time from the Governor.”
The BJP leader said the process of opening channels of communication with the PDP will start soon.
Contending that the BJP wants the alliance to continue, he said: “Modi sahib and Mufti sahib had a vision regarding J&K. We complete that vision.”
Singh, however, reminded the PDP chief that she would have to initiate the process of Government formation after electing the leader of the legislature Party.
“The Constitutional problem is that until the PDP selects a leader and tells the Governor and moves further to form a Government, we can’t move ahead constitutionally.”
The BJP will come into the picture only after the PDP initiates the process of Government formation in the State, he reiterated.
When asked about the assurances being sought by PDP before forging the alliance, he said his party had not received anything “officially” from the coalition partner.
“See, we have not received anything officially about assurances because we are coalition partners and whatever we will discuss it will be in front of each other. Nothing of this sort has come as yet,” said Singh.
Earlier in the day, Nirmal Singh had met Mehbooba for about one hour at the State guest house and held closed-door deliberations to iron out the differences between the two alliance partners.
Singh is believed to have conveyed the stand of the party high command to the PDP chief after returning from New Delhi, where they had met BJP chief Amit Shah late on Monday evening. The BJP core group had also met here in Jammu to discuss the party’s strategy before meeting the Governor.