Srinagar: Mehbooba Mufti, president of the Peoples Democratic Party, dropped hints on Friday that she was not averse to ending the alliance with the Bhartiya Janata Party in Jammu and Kashmir.
The two parties have not been able to agree on government formation ever since the state's chief minister and Mehbooba's father Mufti Mohammed Sayeed passed away on January 7.
Mehbooba indicated today that she could end the alliance with the BJP if the Central government fails to announce “confidence-building measures” (CBM) for Jammu and Kashmir.
Mehbooba stressed at a meeting in Jammu with party workers that the CBMs were necessary to create a “positive atmosphere” in the state.
She, however, stated that she was not trying to “blackmail” the Centre ahead of government formation.
“You can’t form a government in the air. The point is how to create a conducive atmosphere so that if a new government is formed, there is way forward for creating goodwill among the people. And for it you need the support of the government. If we get it is fine, if not then we will move on as we have been doing till now,” Hindustan Times quoted the PDP president as saying.
Mehbooba further indicated that the CBMs should be political in nature and not economic.
“It’s not about finances. If there was no money, how could we do macadamisation? How could Mufti Sayeed start development works? There could be delay in getting finances, but if the government has to be formed there has to be a way for forward movement,” she said.
The daily said political CBMs could mean holding talks with Kashmiri separatists and Pakistan.
Mehbooba and state BJP leaders had met the state Governor separately on February 2 to clarify their stand on government formation.
