With New Delhi making it emphatically clear that no talks whatsoever would be held with separatists in Kashmir, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) running Jammu & Kashmir government in alliance with BJP is finding itself in a very precarious situation. Not only the central government commanded and controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi but BJP President Amit Shah too during his recent two day visit in Jammu made it clear that central government won’t carry out dialogue with the separatist leadership in Kashmir. Interestingly
central government’s assertions that talks cannot be held with separatists and full endorsement of this assertion of the central government goes against the agenda of alliance scripted between PDP and BJP for running the affairs of the state. In the e Agenda of Alliance the BJP has committed itself to hold talks with separatists and also with Pakistan and now the negation of the same by both the BJP and the Modi government have rendered Mehbooba Mufti led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faceless. Repeated assertions of BJP and Modi government on the rejection of dialogue with the separatist is a big blow to PDP presently facing a huge challenge in the proposed by elections for Anantnag parliamentary constituency.
Though PDP has been resisting temptations from opposition parties particularly National Conference and Congress on shelving party’s political agenda, but now the PDP Minister has been pushed to wall by BJP the ally.
Though several PDP leaders including the likes of Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari and Peerzada Mansoor Hussain andwant Mehbooba have publicly challenged the contentions of BJP Chief Amit Shah, BJP’s All India General Secretary Ram Madhav and senior BJP minister in the Mehbooba government Chander Prakash Ganga to create an impression that PDP is not going to buckle under the pressure and give up its demand for dialogue with the separatist leadership in Kashmir and also the Pakistan government but the central government commanded and controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put Mehbooba’s PDP to a huge political embarrassment in Kashmir. PDP a Kashmir based party has been rendered faceless by the repeated statements of the top BJP leaders and Home Minister Rajnath Singh against dialogue with the separatist leadership in Kashmir and resumption of bilateral talks with the Pakistan government. It was in the backdrop of this latest controversy that BJP’s General Secretary Ram Madhav in a meeting with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti discussed the working of coalition government in the state, but PDP’s concern is the reconnection of the party cadres with the people at grass roots and more so the time when bye elections for Anantnag parliamentary constituency are scheduled to be held May 25. Though PDP has been resisting temptations from opposition parties particularly National Conference and Congress on shelving party’s political agenda, but now the PDP Minister has been pushed to wall by BJP the ally.
