PDP key to J&K Govt formation: Mehbooba Mufti

Srinagar, Sep 03: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti Tuesday ruled out any tie-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jammu and Kashmir while asserting that government formation after the assembly polls would not be possible without the inclusion of her party.

Hitting out at the National Conference (NC), she claimed the party wants to contest elections just for the sake of government formation.

“They have been doing so since 1947. They do not have any aim other than that. They form alliances just for the sake of government formation, for ministerial berths,” she said addressing workers at the party headquarters here.

The PDP chief said her party wants to contest elections for an agenda, but asserted that no government formation after the assembly polls would be possible without her party.

“We formed a government with only 16 MLAs (in 2002). Allah willing, this time also, no government will be formed without (the inclusion) of the PDP,” she said.

However, she said the PDP’s focus is more on implementing its agenda and less on government formation.

Mehbooba, whose party formed the coalition government in 2015 with the BJP, ruled out an alliance with the saffron party after the polls.

“The party had joined hands with the BJP for the resolution of the Kashmir issue. Today, there seems to be no scope for that as the BJP has undone all the efforts in that direction,” she said.

Later, while responding to a question about former NC leader Devender Singh Rana’s remarks that the NC wanted to form government with the BJP in 2014, the PDP chief said whatever her party has done it has done it openly unlike the NC which does things secretly.

“When we were having talks with the central government, not the BJP, through Ram Madhav, everyone knew it was done in the open. We brought an agenda and implemented it. We did not do it secretly like Omar (Abdullah),” she said “Rana is saying it now, Ghulam Nabi Azad said it before that they (NC leaders) meet them (BJP) in Delhi in the darkness. We do not do anything secretly.”

The former chief minister said her party does not have any contact with the BJP and “perhaps there will not be any”.

The PDP chief also accused some police officials of “harassing” the people.

“Some Police officers have again become active and are harassing and arresting people by labelling them as OGWs. In the run up to the last elections, many people were arrested. I request the LG who says the elections will be free and fair, that SSPs and SHOs have started to harass people and call them to police stations, please tell them to stop this activity and stop harassing common people,” she said.

About the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi’s visit to J&K on Wednesday, Mehbooba said he was most welcome.

“He wants to come to Kashmir to campaign for his party, he has every right,” she said.