Disastrous for BJP to remain in coalition, Shah told state unit

Dinesh Manhotra 

Tribune News Service 

Jammu, June 19 

Defending his decision to snap ties with the PDP for “not taking effective steps” to contain militancy in J&K, BJP national president Amit Shah told state party leaders at Tuesday's meeting that continuing with the coalition would prove disastrous for the party at the national level. He admitted that the coalition experiment with the PDP had proven to be wrong.

A senior BJP leader from J&K, who attended the crucial meeting with Amit Shah at New Delhi, told The Tribune that the national president first asked state leaders to highlight the three-year “achievements” of the coalition with the PDP. 

“As the visiting leaders from J&K failed to highlight any noticeable achievement, Shah suggested that instead of continuing with the coalition it was in the interest of the party and the people to come out of the government,” he said. “Shah was of the view that the PDP leadership had failed to take peace initiatives in J&K despite all support from the Union government,” he said.

At the meeting, Shah talked about the failure of the PDP leadership in reciprocating the support from the Centre. Party’s national general secretary (organisation) Ram Lal and Avinash Rai Khanna, incharge of the J&K BJP were also present.

State party president Ravinder Raina, former Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta, four general secretaries of the state BJP unit along with all former ministers attended the meeting but only Gupta spoke. All state leaders unanimously supported the decision of the high command to come out of the coalition.

A former BJP minister, who wished not to be quoted, told The Tribune that Shah, while discussing the pros and cons of continuing with the coalition, said the party had taken bold initiatives such as the announcement of unilateral ceasefire in the month of Ramzan but these measures were not properly reciprocated by the PDP. 

Sources said the issue of registration of FIRs against security personnel dealing with stone pelters was also discussed and those present in the meeting observed that such steps had demoralised the security forces. 

Sources said it was mentioned in the meeting that the PDP was pursuing soft separatism to strengthen its constituency and this policy had created discontent among residents of the Jammu region against the BJP. 

‘PDP failed to reciprocate’

At the crucial meeting of BJP national president Amit Shah with state party leaders in Delhi on Tuesday, the former said the PDP leadership had failed to take peace initiatives in J&K despite all support from the Union government, said a source.