BJP and its leadership are disingenuous: PDP

Srinagar: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday while reacting sharply to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s assertion that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s alliance with it to form a coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir in March 2015 was “mahamilawat (highly contaminated)” accused him of being “disingenuous”.  

“The Prime Minister has called it mahamilawat which means he knows how to contaminate things. It only proves the BJP was never sincere in its decision and the spirit under which the alliance was known to have been formed”, said senior PDP leader and former minister Naeem Akhter.

He said the common minimum programme called ‘Agenda of the Alliance’ on the basis of which the PDP-BJP coalition government was formed was meant for addressing the issues faced by the state and its people. “Till his last breath Mufti (Muhammad Sayeed) Sahib was hopeful of New Delhi making moves based on honesty, impartiality and sincerity to address the issues our State is faced with. Had the ‘Agenda of the Alliance’ been implemented in letter and spirit, the people would have got rid of their miseries and sorrows by now”.

He addeded, “But now Prime Minister himself tells us that the alliance on their side was mahamilawat. “This speaks volumes about disingenuousness of the BJP and its leadership.”

Prime Minister, Mr. Modi, in an interview earlier during the day had said BJP’s decision to form the coalition government with PDP was its (BJP’s) “mahamilawat”. He said the BJP entered into alliance with the PDP to form a government in restive state “under democratic compulsions”.

He said, “We went with the PDP because Mufti Saab (Mufti Muhammad Syeed) was there, but it was like mixing oil and water.”

The PDP-BJP alliance was our mahamilavat. We only did it because that was the people’s mandate.”

The Mufti Sayeed-led PDP-BJP alliance’s government was sworn in on March 1, 2015, three months after the State Assembly election results came out. Mr. Sayeed, the PDP patron, died in office on January 7, 2016 and was replaced as chief minister of the State by his daughter and party president Mehbooba Mufti. The alliance between the two parties came to an end when the BJP pulled out of the coalition government in June 2018 saying it had become untenable for it to continue with the alliance. The former allies are now openly and vociferously criticising each other as the Lok Sabha elections are currently being held in seven phases.

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