Bickering in PDP over alliance with BJP

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 26

Serious differences have cropped up among PDP leaders over running the coalition government with the BJP in the state. While a group has argued that continuing alliance with the BJP would prove to be disastrous for the party in the long run, another faction feels that coming out of the government at this point of time is not a wise decision.

During the two successive meetings convened by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to brief the party leadership about her meetings with Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, party leaders were not unanimous in continuing alliance with the BJP.

On Monday evening, Mehbooba Mufti, who is also president of the PDP, briefed members of the core group of the party about her Delhi visit. On Tuesday evening, she convened a meeting of the PDP legislators for the same purpose.

Highly placed sources said there were divergent voices in the Monday meeting on alliance as a couple of members suggested severing ties with the BJP, which according to them, was not sincere in implementing the “Agenda of Alliance”.

“The Tuesday evening meeting was very stormy as half a dozen legislators seized this opportunity to give vent to their anger,” a source said, adding that some legislators suggested that there was no reason to remain in power when the party had failed to implement its agenda.

The sources said one of the young legislators of the party pointed out that the “provocative” statements repeatedly given by BJP leaders, including some ministers, were adding fuel to the already surcharged atmosphere in the Valley. The legislator, the sources said, rued that BJP leaders were appeasing their core constituency by giving “irresponsible” statement and there was no check on these leaders.

Sources said in the “stormy” Tuesday evening meeting, some legislators took party ministers to task for ignoring PDP workers and giving importance only to the bureaucrats.

The sources said the meeting also witnessed heated exchanges between a former minister and a senior leader of the party. Arguments started when the former minister chided the senior leader for organising youth conventions in closed-door rooms. The senior leader left the meeting in a huff.