J&K govt formation: Amit Shah meets PM, PDP unhappy over fund delay

Dismissing reports that PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti was set to seek popular support after snapping ties with the BJP, PDP sources said the channels of negotiation were still open.

Jammu and Kashmir, J&K politics, BJP in J&K, PDP-BJP alliance, Mehbooba Mufti, Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, BJP core group meeting, political crisis in J&K

People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti. (Express Archive)

Still to go public with the future of its alliance with the BJP, the PDP is cut up that there has hardly been any progress on the implementation of the economic package that Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced for Jammu & Kashmir on November 7.

“There was an understanding that about Rs 5,000-6,000 crore will flow through various schemes within a month, but hardly 20 per cent of that has reached the state,” a PDP leader said.

It took two months for the Centre to finally release Rs 1,200 crore. “Even this happened only on January 7, the day Mufti Sahab passed away,” the leader said, adding that no more funds were disbursed thereafter.

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Watch video: J&K crisis: What Is Troubling The PDP-BJP Alliance?

Dismissing reports that PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti was set to seek popular support after snapping ties with the BJP, PDP sources said the channels of negotiation were still open. “She (Mehbooba) told party leaders that discussions on government formation are still underway. If the alliance with the BJP does not continue, then the PDP will not be part of any other government,” the sources said.

In New Delhi, J&K BJP leaders held a series of meeting with their central leadership Monday.
Sources said BJP chief Amit Shah had met Prime Minister Modi for over two hours Sunday during which both leaders also discussed developments in J&K.

State BJP leaders met Shah and had a discussion with party general secretary Ram Madhav, who was instrumental in bringing the two parties together to form a government last March.

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The BJP, party sources said, will ask Mehbooba Mufti to spell out her stand on the alliance before taking any step. “Mehbooba has not conveyed anything to us so far. Let her spell out her position on the alliance and the government,” sources said.

A section in the BJP wants the party to continue its alliance with the PDP and form the government, but there are others who are unhappy with “the way Mehbooba has been handling the issue” and they don’t want the party to blink. “We have formed the government and drafted the agenda for governance for the development of Jammu and Kashmir. We will continue to do so,” a party leader said.

“The agenda we have agreed upon is for six years and we have started working on it in the last 10 months. How can PDP expect us to give another assurance now and set a timeframe? We can carry them forward only if the government is functioning,” a leader said.

P Vaidyanathan Iyer

P. Vaidyanathan Iyer is The Indian Express’s Managing Editor, and leads the newspaper’s reporting across the country. He writes on India’s political economy, and works closely with reporters exploring investigation in subjects where business and politics intersect. He was earlier the Resident Editor in Mumbai driving Maharashtra’s political and government coverage. He joined the newspaper in April 2008 as its National Business Editor in Delhi, reporting and leading the economy and policy coverage. He has won several accolades including the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award twice, the KC Kulish Award of Merit, and the Prem Bhatia Award for Political Reporting and Analysis. A member of the Pulitzer-winning International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Vaidyanathan worked on several projects investigating offshore tax havens. He co-authored Panama Papers: The Untold India Story of the Trailblazing Offshore Investigation, published by Penguin. ... Read More

Liz Mathew

Have been in journalism covering national politics for 23 years. Have covered six consecutive Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls in almost all the states. Currently writes on ruling BJP. Always loves to understand what's cooking in the national politics (And ventures into the act only in kitchen at home). ... Read More

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