Ahead of staking claim to form an alliance Government with the BJP in Jammu & Kashmir, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, a passionate bridge player, on Friday bridged many a gap between the two diametrically opposite political parties during his much-anticipated meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ahead of embarking on a new journey of his long political career at the ripe age of 79, Mufti, who will be sworn in as the 12th Chief Minister of the State on March 1, decided to back Narendra Modi’s inclusive slogan to fulfil aspirations of the people of all three regions of the State.
“I also want sabka saath, sabka vikas (development for all)” Mufti told reporters waiting outside 7 RCR, promising to continue his famed ‘healing touch’ policy to give responsive and corruption-free governance to the people of J&K. During the hour-long meeting with the Prime Minister, both the leaders also discussed the fine print of the 15-point common minimum programme (CMP) and are learnt to have resolved the contentious issues to clear the last hurdle ahead of the swearing-in ceremony.
Emerging out of the meeting Mufti told reporters, “I have extended an invitation to the Prime Minister for attending the oath ceremony and he has agreed”.He was accompanied by PDP legislator Dr Haseeb Drabu during the meeting with the Prime Minister. Mufti said, “The BJP-PDP alliance is a political alliance first, then an alliance for governance”. When asked whether an understanding has been reached between the two parties over some of the contentious issues, Mufti refused to answer any specific questions on controversial subjects like Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) or Article 370.
All he said was that, “the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) will be announced after the oath-taking ceremony at 3 pm on Sunday at a joint Press conference in Jammu.” Elaborating on the background of informal talks which were continuing for over one month, Mufti said a lot of discussions have taken place after a hung verdict was delivered by the electorate to forge a common ground, a common agenda. Mufti also equated the PDP-BJP coalition with “bringing together of North Pole with South Pole”.
Meanwhile, in related developments, Mufti was elected as leader of the PDP legislature Party on Friday evening. Mufti is expected to arrive in Jammu early Saturday morning to finalise the probable list of council of Ministers. An equal number of 13 and 12 Ministers from PDP and BJP are expected to take oath along with Mufti and his deputy Chief Minister from the BJP. The meeting of the PDP legislature Party was held at Mufti Sayeed’s residence in Jammu in his absence. Senior leader Abdul Rehman Veeri presided over the meeting.
According to spokesman of the Raj Bhawan, “A four-member BJP delegation led by Kavinder Gupta also handed over letter of support to Governor NN Vohra in Jammu conveying BJP’s support in favour of the J&K Peoples Democratic Party for formation of Government in the State and to invite Mufti to form the Government with the BJP”.
In a separate letter to Governor Mufti informed him that with the support of the BJP the PDP led coalition would enjoy a clear majority and was in a position to provide a stable Government in the State in the wake of a split verdict.