Srinagar, January 4
Barely a week after the declaration of poll results and the new coalition arrangement between the Congress and the National Conference, the PDP today decided to disassociate itself from the UPA at the Centre.

After the 2002 Assembly elections, the two parties shared the coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir for about six years, before the two fell apart, four months before the stipulated term, in the wake of Amarnath land row.

The PDP decision was formally conveyed by party president Mehbooba Mufti in a letter to Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi today. This decision was taken by the PDP after the National Conference allied with the UPA at the Centre giving way to an alliance with the Congress in the formation of the next coalition government in the state. The next NC-Congress coalition government would take over tomorrow with the swearing in of Omar Abdulllah as the Chief Minister and five of his ministerial colleagues from the NC and the Congress.

“In view of your new arrangement with the National Conference, both in the state and in the UPA, you would appreciate our difficulty in continuing to be a part of the UPA. My party has decided to stay away from the arrangement as it has now become untenable for PDP to continue in this alliance”, the PDP president Mehbooba Mufti stated in her letter. Referring to the Congress’ “unquestionable right” to choose a coalition partner in the state, Mehbooba hoped that the new government would be able to respond to the “highly complex situation” with success.

Mehbooba Mufti said the PDP had gone into the recent Assembly elections with its agenda for dialogue, self-rule, reduction of troops and scrapping of special powers in view of the “vastly improved ground situation” in the state. “The emphatic rejection of violence by the people as a means of solving problems and reiteration of their faith in democratic means became very clear during the elections”, she stated in the letter.

She held that her party continued to raise vital issues concerning the state and its people in the interest of peace and stability. “We as a responsible opposition will continue to flag the issues that we feel people have mandated us for”, she added.

She conveyed to Sonia that the two parties had six years ago “started a journey together against the backdrop of blood, mayhem, repression and despondency” in the state. She added that now there had been enough indication on ground to feel satisfied that the alliance turned out to be an enterprise of hope for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Mehbooba said the PDP-Congress coalition worked as a remarkable facilitator of reconciliation among political aspirations of the state, its developmental needs and the national interest. “My father and my party feel we have done a duty towards our state, which could not have been achieved without the support of your party and the UPA Government”, Mehbboba added.