NC must live up to people’s expectations: PDP

The PDP on Sunday said the ruling National Conference (NC) must rise to expectations of the people who voted for it in the 2024 Assembly elections. The PDP, in its monthly newsletter, said a “bitter disillusionment” has settled as a BJP MLA was “brazenly dictating” terms to Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather.

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The document posted on X by party chief Mehbooba Mufti stated, “When the NC reclaimed power in 2024, the people of the erstwhile state of J&K saw a glimmer of possibility after a decade of political limbo. With 42 seats and a coalition tally of 49, the NC’s victory promised a government that would stand firm for its constituents.

“Yet, as the Legislative Assembly prepares for its Budget session on March 3, a bitter disillusionment has settled in. The sight of a BJP legislator brazenly dictating terms to Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather — and by extension, the NC-led government — is not just a slight to the Speaker’s chair. It’s a wound inflicted on the very soul of J&K’s people.”

Leader of Opposition (LoP) Sunil Sharma had recently during a meeting with the Speaker urged him to not allow any “unconstitutional” bill to be tabled in the House.

“With 29 seats rooted in Jammu, the BJP flexed its muscle, attempting to gag debate before it even begins—a chilling echo of last November, when their protests against the Article 370 restoration resolution turned the House into a battlefield. And where is the NC in this storm? Silent, faltering, absent when their constituents needed them most,” the newsletter stated.

The PDP further attacked the NC by stating that the people had dreamed of a government with spine—a coalition that would wield its mandate to amplify their voices, not let them be drowned out by the BJP’s thunder. “Instead, they watch in dismay as the BJP, a minority in numbers but a titan in audacity, sets the rules of engagement,” the party stated.