'Every party in J&K must be ready for elections'

'As PDP chief, Mehbooba has every right to raise issues in her party's interest.'

Professor Saifuddin Soz -- former president of the Congress party's Jammu and Kashmir unit -- was one of the late chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's friends.

Soz, a four-time member of the Lok Sabha and twice a member of the Rajya Sabha, was a Union minister in the first United Progressive Alliance government.

Soz, image, below, tells Pervez Majeed what he thinks about the PDP-BJP alliance in Jammu and Kashmir.

After Mufti Sayeed's death, political uncertainty prevails in the state. How do you view the situation?

Uncertainty was not expected to last this long. Governor's rule is not an answer to the requirements of the people.

PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti has sought confidence building measures from the Centre before forming a government with the BJP.

As PDP chief, she has every right to raise issues in her party's interest. But then the broader question remains whether she is determined to serve the people of J&K.

You were friends with Mufti Sayeed. What would you tell your late friend's daughter?

She must make clear her determination to serve the people of the state.

In the present political scenario, how do you think the state Congress should position itself?

The Congress party is doing whatever it can do under the circumstances. Party leaders should focus on how best to serve the public interest.

How do you view a situation where the state may face mid-term polls?

Every party should remain ready to face the electorate.

The National Conference has been accusing the PDP of facilitating a 'communal party' to make inroads in J&K.

Yes, it is a very bad situation, but unfortunately the BJP got the space in Jammu rather unexpectedly due to false promises and polarisation. And perhaps because of some shortcomings on our side.

Mufti Sayeed's critics say he committed the biggest blunder of his political career by forging an alliance with the BJP.

Something could be said decisively about the late Mufti Sahab if he had lived to complete his term.

Some people assert that the Centre -- in other words the prime minister -- let Mufti Sayeed down by not providing him the kind of support he had expected when he entered into an alliance with the BJP.

There is no doubt that the Centre let Mufti Sahab down as far as financial resources for the state's development are concerned.

In the aftermath of the Srinagar floods, the state needed serious financial support from the Centre, which was not provided.

It is being said in Kashmir's political and public circles that by not visiting Mufti Sayeed in hospital and after his death his family in Srinagar, Prime Minister Modi and BJP President Amit Shah 'humiliated' the PDP patriarch who staked his political career by joining hands with them.

Yes, of course.

How do you see the future of the PDP post Mufti Sayeed?

I think Mehbooba Mufti has earned the position to lead her party properly.

During the elections of 2002 and 2008, the Congress emerged as a kingmaker in J&K and became a part of the government. But in the 2014 election, it finished fourth.
Jammu was deemed a Congress citadel, but in the last election your party was thrashed badly.

What happened in Jammu during the last election was solely due to a kind of onslaught by RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) workers who polarised the electorate on communal lines and an out of proportion game of false promises by Narendra Modi.

Of course, there were some shortcomings on our side as well -- that we must accept.

After demitting the post of state Congress president, you seem to have gone into political hibernation.

I remain a participant in diverse political and social activities. I can never accept any kind of hibernation.

For years Ghulam Nabi Azad and you were seen pulling in opposite directions in the state Congress, which was divided between 'pro-Azad' and 'pro-Soz' camps. Has that intra-party rivalry ended?

On my part I was all the time clear that I was serving the best interests of the party. I never saw Azad Sahab as a rival. We fought the elections together.

MAIN IMAGE: Congress President Sonia Gandhi consoles PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on her father's death in Srinagar, January 20, 2016. Photograph: Umar Ganie