Mehbooba to hold meeting, apprise PDP leaders on J&K deadlock

Srinagar, March 20 (IANS) Amid a deadlock over formation of a new government in Jammu and Kashmir in alliance with the BJP, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti is likely to hold a meeting in two to three days to chart out her party's future course of action.

During the meeting, the Peoples Democratic Party president will apprise senior party leaders about the parleys she had with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah in New Delhi, top PDP sources told IANS here.

The meeting date will be finalised as soon as senior PDP leaders presently stuck in Jammu due to inclement weather arrive here.

Government formation hit a dead-end after BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav told reporters in New Delhi that the BJP would not accept any conditions from the PDP on the issue.

Although none of the two alliance partners has so far said that the alliance between them is over, senior PDP leaders maintain channels of communication between the two parties are snapped at present.

The PDP maintains it has made no fresh demands for government formation, except the party wants a time frame for the implementation of the agenda of alliance agreed upon by the two parties when they formed the coalition government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on March 1 last year.

"The PDP chief has made it clear time and again that she will stand by her father's decision to form an alliance with the BJP as he was convinced that it is in the interest of the state's people," a PDP leader said.

"All Mehboobaji wants is to ensure that the promises made to her father in terms of political initiatives and economic progress of the state see the light of the day," he added.

The PDP sources said Mehbooba Mufti would speak to the media after the meeting on the political deadlock.

The state was placed under Governor's Rule on January 8, a day after the then chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passed away in New Delhi.