Mehbooba wants Centre to act before government formation

'You have to fight a lot of forces. To fight these forces and ensure control of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, it is important the central government should fully stand behind us.'

Jammu and Kashmir appeared to be headed for a longer spell of political uncertainty with both allies -- the Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party -- putting the onus of forming the next government on each other as their leaders met Governor N N Vohra who had stepped in to break the month-long impasse.

Vohra held consultations with PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, who was accompanied by senior party colleague Muzaffar Baig, after which he met BJP leaders, including former deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh, in Jammu to seek clarity on the issue of government formation.

While Mehbooba did not spell out what she told Vohra, Singh said the BJP will take any step only after the PDP elects its legislature party leader and notifies the governor about it.

Emerging from the meeting, Mehbooba set certain conditions for the PDP's ally, the BJP, including confidence building measures by the Centre for peace and development of Jammu and Kashmir.

Insisting that there are 'no differences' with the BJP, she said Jammu and Kashmir is different from other states and needs a 'good atmosphere, space and a fillip' if a new government is to be formed.

Her late father Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, without bothering about his 'political career', had aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the hope that the Centre will bring the state out of the difficult situation it is in, Mehbooba told reporters.

'Jammu and Kashmir is a different state, there are different challenges. In Jammu and Kashmir, there are several forces which need to be tackled. We need the Centre to be fully with us,' the PDP chief said.

Repeatedly asked about what she wants from the Centre, Mehbooba said there was a need for confidence building measures, not only for Kashmir, but also for Jammu and Ladakh.

Refusing to specify the CBMs, she referred to the 'Agenda of Alliance,' saying it had been firmed up at the highest level by the two parties last year.

Hailing her late father for his guts, she said she does not have such 'experience.'

She said there are 'no differences' with the BJP, but wanted such measures to be taken by the Centre which will ensure that Mufti Sayeed's absence is not felt.

After the BJP delegation met the governor, Nirmal Singh said, 'We want that the alliance should continue. Modisahab and Muftisahab had a vision regarding Jammu and Kashmir. We complete that vision. But the Constitutional problem is that until the PDP selects a leader and tells the governor and moves further to form a government, after that only we will take some position Constitutionally.'

The PDP, with 27 MLAs in the 87-member assembly, and the BJP with 25 legislators, ran a coalition government headed by Sayeed for 10 months before his demise on January 7.

Just before the meetings with the governor, Singh met Mehbooba soon after she arrived from Srinagar for the first time since her father's death.

Singh had returned from Delhi where he and two colleagues discussed the way forward with BJP President Amit Shah.

'It was a courtesy call. Nothing more than that,' Singh told reporters after meeting Mehbooba.

'We wish to continue with the vision envisaged by Modiji and Muftisahab on J&K,' Singh said.

Asked whether the PDP-BJP coalition would continue, he said, 'Yes.'

On when a government would be formed, Singh said, 'At present, I cannot give a time frame. But we hope very soon a democratic government will be put in place here.'

Mehbooba, who spoke to the media for the first time since her father's death, said, 'There is nothing like a trust deficit (between the PDP and the BJP). We have to form a new government in Jammu and Kashmir. Muftisahab is not there and to fill his gap, the Government of India has to take some measures for the people of Jammu and Kashmir for which the new government will get space and fillip.'

'You have to fight a lot of forces. To fight these forces and ensure control of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir,' she added, 'it is important that the central government should fully stand behind us.'

'The governor wanted to know where the process of government formation has reached,' Mehbooba said.

Indicating her willingness to carry forward the alliance with the BJP, she said, 'Before the formation of a new government, the Government of India, and not the BJP, should take such measures in Jammu and Kashmir so that a conducive atmosphere is created in the state.'

'I have discussed it with the governorsahab that this is what our party has to say,' she added.

Contending that the PDP had entered an alliance with the BJP in the 'larger interest' of the people, she said, 'You know that our Muftisahab respected the mandate of last year and keeping in view the aspirations of the people of J&K, he took a big decision by rising above his personal interest and the party interest.'

'Despite his towering statesmanship,' Mehbooba said, 'he faced a lot of difficulties in his rule because it was understood that there are two parties of different point of views and there are going to be contradictions.'

'When Muftisahab is no more with us it is a big responsibility and in such a situation in Jammu and Kashmir,' she said, 'there is a need for a conducive environment for forming the government of the BJP and the PDP.'