In what could be another round of confrontation between the People’s Democratic Party and the Congress in J-K, PDP’s Mufti Mohammed Sayeed has once again criticised the Centre for not heeding to his demand for a troop cut in Kashmir. Mufti also asked the Centre to take immediate decisions on the recommendations of the committees constituted to look into their demand for reduction of troops and revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). “Our party extended unflinching support to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the constitution and functioning of the mechanism for the purpose. Ironically, there has been no movement forward on the issue even after the Defence Committee submitted its report. I think the decision must be taken now without any further delay,” Mufti said. He further said that conflicting statements from various quarters on the issue are adding to the confusion. He claimed this is adversely affecting the credibility of his party in the state.Meanwhile, a majority of the PDP leadership today favored pulling out of the coalition. The party leadership expressed discontentment with the functioning of the Azad-led Government. “The way things are moving in the coalition, it is evident that Chief Minister Azad is taking all decisions unilaterally,” most of the senior leaders opined at a meeting of the party leaders today. Chaired by Mufti, the meeting was attended by ministers, legislators, office-bearers, district president and zonal presidents. “The time has come when PDP should think seriously of withdrawing support from the coalition,” said a PDP source.Sources said the PDP leaders asked Mufti and party president Mehbooba Mufti to quickly decide on the issue of withdrawing support, especially after the controversy over the ouster of the PDP leader Qazi Muhammad Afzal from the party. Development of the situation, it was argued, conveyed a wrong impression among the public about the party’s silence on the issue. The leaders, sources said, who were in favour of calling it a day included a Cabinet minister, a senior vice-president of the party and some top party functionaries. Except Muzaffar Husasain Beig and Ghulam Hassan Mir, all the leaders of the party attended the meeting. The leaders expressed dissatisfaction over the dismal functioning of the present dispensation. Majority of the participants observed that the Government’s negative and callous attitude is overshadowing the commendable work done during the first three years of the coalition rule. The party cadres said that the present Government has completely dithered on the political and economic agenda of the coalition Government, resulting in an adverse impact on the ground. Time has come for the PDP to chalk out the strategy on how to ensure implementation of its pro-people agenda, both on the political and economic fronts, it was observed in the meeting. Sources said, even Sayeed expressed his dismay over the waning interest of the state Government in the peace process. “Many participants support withdrawing support from the Government. But at the end, many leaders requested Mufti sahib to take up all these issue of coalition function with the Congress high command,” PDP political secretary Peerzada Mansoor Hussain told The Indian Express.
