PDP, BJP must explain delay in J&K govt formation: Congress

Srinagar: Congress on Sunday said the people of Jammu and Kashmir have the right to know why PDP and BJP are not forming the government in the state despite having the numbers.

Senior party leader Ambika Soni also wondered whether "backtracking" by BJP on some promise was delaying government formation.

"The people have a right to know what is happening. These people (PDP and BJP) should come out and say why the government is not being formed.

"It is the responsibility of the party which has the mandate to form the government in a democratic set up," said Soni, Congress General Secretary in charge of the state.

She said it should not take time for the two parties to form the government as they had already chalked out a roadmap earlier.

"People have cast their votes for a government for a period of six years. Unfortunately, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passed away. But even in such circumstances, the new government is formed in a week's or 10 to 15 days' time because the roadmap or agenda or other things would have been already discussed between the alliance partners," said Soni.

The Congress leader said it seems that BJP had made some promises to PDP just for the sake of coming to power but was now backtracking.

"What is beyond our understanding is that (PDP president) Mehbooba (Mufti) has said a few times that BJP will have to take some confidence-building measures before government formation.

"We are surprised as to which promises has BJP not been able to fulfil. Perhaps they promised something to PDP for coming to power but are now backtracking," she said.

Soni was here as part of a Congress team led by party treasurer Moti Lal Vora to take stock of the party's organisational affairs and activities.

At a meeting chaired by Vora yesterday, the president of Congress's state unit, GA Mir, said the party had managed to enrol 40,000 active members and 20,000 more will be inducted.

In Jammu district, Tara Chand trained guns on BJP and claimed that while Congress had got the approval for the refugees package, BJP had winded it up.

Over 9,000 families were identified for pension in the border area under Congress's tenure, but nothing has reached them, he claimed.