Srinagar ready for mother of all meets

The government is sprucing up the Sher-e-Kashmir Conference Centre (SKICC), right on the Dal banks, for the conference. The entire complex has been renovated, giving it a fresh and modern look. Most VVIPs will stay in the neighbouring Grand Palace hotel while Vajpayee will stay in the Raj Bhawan and Advani, most probably, at the Nehru Guest House.

Most of the chief ministers — except UP’s Mayawati and Karnataka’s S M Krishna — are expected. Several guests will be accompanied by their families and the State government is happy to play the host. ‘‘It is a major confidence-building measure for us and for our tourist industry,’’ said an official.

‘‘The venue is important,’’ sources close to Chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said. ‘‘The fact that almost the entire top-brass of the Central and state governments has chosen to hold a meeting here is a boost to us. It shows confidence in us and proves things have improved a lot on ground,’’ they said.

‘‘It also signifies a national consensus and we will press for a substantial political package. The chief minister has been asking for an immediate initiation of a dialogue process at the highest political level,’’ they added.

Sources revealed that Mufti will focus more on his demand for a substantial political package rather than developmental doles from the Centre. There are two reasons: The economic package announced by the Prime Minister earlier in April has not even kickstarted. The one-lakh jobs package is yet to arrive and financial constraints are forcing the Mufti government to continue its blanket ban on fresh recruitments. Also, work on the 168-crore, 12-km stretch of Srinagar-Jammu national highway on the North South Corridor is yet to begin.

Mufti and his party are nervous about the delay in a dialogue between the Centre and the separatists. Mufti, in fact, has been pushing for the dialogue and has had meetings with Vajpayee and Advani. Now as both Vajpayee and Advani are going to be here with an entourage of chief ministers, it is viewed as a golden opportunity.

‘‘It is almost nine months since we assumed power and the promised dialogue process is yet to begin,’’ a senior PDP leader said. ‘‘We need it to keep ouselves politically relevant here.’’