This Article is From Feb 01, 2016

'No Compromise Even If I Stand Alone': Mehbooba Mufti's Message to BJP

Mehbooba Mufti had earlier indicated that she is not in a hurry to form the government with the BJP in the state.

Srinagar: The 10-month-old uneasy alliance between the BJP and the PDP appeared to reach a tipping point on Sunday as PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti indicated that unless the BJP delivered on the agenda of alliance, she would not hesitate to go back to the people.

Sources told NDTV that at a party meeting held today, Ms Mufti said she would not compromise on the party's core ideology even if that meant going back to the people. "I will stand by the core ideology of PDP even if I'm all alone. I will go back to people," sources quoted her as saying.

The signal from the party had been mixed, given that a section of leaders at the meeting were in favour of immediate government formation.

The meeting came amid the suspense over the government formation of the state that had started since the death of Ms Mufti's father, Mufti Mohd Sayeed on January 7. Ms Mufti, who was expected to succeed him, had been reluctant to take oath.

Initially, it was said she was mourning for her father. But the political uncertainty grew with reports that she had been upset with the BJP over the Centre's tardiness over the economic package and flood relief for the state, which is currently under President's rule.

Earlier on Sunday, She broke her silence for the first time, saying like her father, she would stand by the people and not power, sources said. A party communique quoted her spelling out her condition for government formation in Jammu and Kashmir -- that the BJP must deliver a "time-bound following of the Agenda of Alliance".

The PDP also has to "reassess whether the Centre is ready to trust the people of the state and implement the Agenda of Alliance," said Ms Mufti. "The PDP is expecting tangible measures from the Centre to carry forward and take to logical conclusion, the reconciliation process which was initiated and worked effectively between 2002 and 2005."

Ideologically poles apart, the PDP and the BJP have shared an uneasy alliance of 10 months. Calling it "a courageous, although unpopular, decision" Ms Mufti said the task of carrying everyone along despite the controversies ultimately took a toll on her father's health.  

She also accused "certain quarters" in Jammu and Kashmir and in Delhi of triggering frequent controversies over "avoidable contentious issues". "In such violative circumstances, we will have to reassess whether we can absorb the shocks which Mufti Sahab had to do so frequently," she has said.

Following the meeting, senior PDP leader Naeem Akhtar had told NDTV that "there is trust deficit (between the two parties) that needs to be worked out." But he also said the party will stand by the alliance, "provided the agenda of the alliance is implemented".
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