Will form govt soon, have support of 51 members: Rebel PDP legislator

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 14

A day after a rebel group of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spoke publically against party president Mehbooba Mufti, a rebel legislator on Saturday claimed that they would form the government soon as they had the support of 51 members.

“Don’t talk about the numbers. You need 44 members, we have 51. We have full numbers,” rebel MLA from south Kashmir Abdul Majeed Paddar told reporters here on Saturday. “Inshallah (God willing), we will form the government,” he said.

After the breakdown of the PDP-BJP government, only three PDP MLAs and two MLCs have publicly spoken against Mehbooba.

Paddar said all like-minded people from all parties would get together to form the government.

“People had elected us for six years and it is our bad luck that we were not able to deliver in the first three years. We want to now provide a better government to our people for the next three years,” he said. “Our effort is to provide a government so that people are brought out of the present mess,” he said.

On Friday, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti cautioned New Delhi against splitting her party, saying that it will give birth to another breed of militants. She had said the PDP was united and there were issues within every home which could be resolved.

Hours later, a group of five PDP lawmakers said they were not acting at the behest of New Delhi to split the PDP or form a government with the BJP.