Mehbooba tells Guv take all parties on board on Panchayat, Municipal polls

Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday asked Governor Satya Pal Malik to take all mainstream political parties on board before deciding to go ahead with Municipal and Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to Kashmir News Service (KNS) correspondent, Mehbooba told reporters at Kangan that dialogue process similar to the one undertaken by former Prime Minister Attal Bihari Vajpayee both with the stake holders in Jammu and Kashmir and as well as Government of Pakistan is the only way to restore peace for political process in the state.
After attending a public rally in Kangan, the PDP President said, “I as Chief Minister had convened an All Party Meeting over the issue of Panchayat elections early this year to evolve a consensus among the mainstream parties and this time I urge Governor to take an all party meeting before deciding to go ahead with the proposed municipal and panchayat elections in the state.”
Saying that her party agenda has not changed in any way Mehbooba said “wounds of Kashmir’s have to be healed and dialogue with stake holders in Jammu and Kashmir and the Government of Pakistan is the only way forward for initiating a peaceful political process in the state.”
Claiming that her party PDP has decided to ally with BJP to take Jammu and Kashmir out of the present messy situation, Mehbooba urged the incumbent Modi government at the centre to pick up threads from Vajpayee’s Kashmir policy to address the core political concerns of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.