Impasse to end over J&K govt formation after Mehbooba's 'positive' meet with PM

Deadlock over government formation in Jammu and Kashmir seems to have ended with Peoples Democratic Party Chief Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday calling on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a meeting which she described as "very positive" and "good" in addressing issues pertaining to the people of the state.

Mehbooba drove to the prime minister's residence Monday morning barely three days after the PDP and the BJP had hit a road block with BJP's chief interlocutor Ram Madhav announcing that his party would not be accepting any fresh demands from its erstwhile ally PDP.

Emerging after a 30-minute-long meeting with the prime minister, Mehbooba said that she had a "very positive meeting and a good meeting" with him.

"We are seeing a stalemate for last two to three months over government formation in the state but today I am satisfied. I am very satisfied," she told reporters.

To a question whether the stalemate has ended, she said, "When you meet the prime minister of the country, naturally the solution to the problems faced by the people of Jammu and Kashmir is more clear".

She will be flying back to Srinagar where she will brief her party legislators on Thursday. "I had been authorised by the party MLAs to take a decision. I have convened a meeting on Thursday and after that we will announce the future course of action."

On government formation in the state, she said, "As I said I will talk to my MLAs because that is the forum. This is not the place. There is a particular place to make such anouncements. I will go back to Srinagar and take the next step."

Mehbooba came to Delhi on Monday after the PDP make it clear to the BJP that there was some miscommunication and no fresh demands had been raised by the party for stitching an alliance.

This is her second visit to the national capital in five days after her talks with BJP President Amit Shah on Thursday failed to make any headway triggering speculation that the two parties could be making renewed efforts to reach out to each other in a bid to break the prolonged impasse.

Mehbooba had a meeting Monday morning with her senior party colleagues, including former Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu, during which final touches were given for the meeting with the prime minister, sources said.

The fresh efforts from the PDP, which has 27 MLAs in the 87-member state assembly, come in the backdrop of repeated assertions made by the BJP that it was committed to implementation of Agenda of Alliance arrived at by late Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.

The talks with the BJP, which has 25 MLAs, had hit a roadblock last week when the party's interlocutor Ram Madhav made it clear that no fresh demands would be entertained from the PDP and that they had to decide whether they want to form a government based on the Agenda of Alliance document.

The toughening of stand came as a surprise for Mehbooba who boarded a plane on Friday last and returned to the state.

PDP MP Muzzafar Hussain Baig, who has been playing a key role in the backchannel talks, had clarified that the PDP had made no fresh demands and that there was a miscommunication from both sides leading to derailing of talks.

The PDP and the BJP had formed an alliance on March one, last year with Sayeed as the chief minister. Both the sides had formed an Agenda of Alliance which sought to address internal and external dimension of the state.

The PDP had toughened its stance after Sayeed's demise by seeking concrete plans for the state's development, including handing over of power projects to the state and vacation of land by the army before the coalition could be revived. 

Governor's rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir on January 8 after Mehbooba decided against taking over the reins after her father's death.

Image: PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photograph: PIB