NC slams PDP for delaying govt formation in J&K

As PDP maintained suspense, opposition National Conference today slammed it for delaying government formation in Jammu and Kashmir, asking it urgently to either own or disown the alliance with BJP which was the "final legacy" of late Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. NC said the continued delay in government formation has put Jammu and Kashmir in a "precarious Constitutional situation" where two parties continue to be in alliance with adequate numbers but "are still adamant to rob the people of their Constitutional right to a have an elected government".
PDP's statement following a party meeting that it wants assurance on its 'Agenda for Alliance' is yet another "contemptuous attempt to test the patience of the people and the continued and liberal indulgence of the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir", NC spokesman Junaid Mattu said.

"This continued theatre of absurdity by PDP is not an alternative to the constitutional and political responsibilities of the largest political party in the Legislative Assembly and calls into question PDP's seriousness in governing the state beyond its own partisan rhetoric and interests," he said.
"PDP's alliance with the BJP is Sayeed's final and definitive political legacy. PDP should either own it or disown it without any further delay. There is no third, middle-path," Mattu said here.
He said, "Any further delay in government formation while PDP and BJP continue to be in an alliance would not only be unconstitutional but would also discredit the neutrality and objectivity of political institutions in the state and for a state like Jammu and Kashmir, this comes with grave risks."

He added, "We hope the Constitution is respected and its principles upheld to safeguard the Constitutional rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir."

Mattu said if PDP wants "assurances" from BJP about the 'Agenda of the Alliance' now, "what was Sayeed doing for the last ten months while every single political and developmental promise in the common minimum programme was flouted and broken by both parties in carefully cinematographed fixed matches?"
The NC spokesperson said if PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and her party want to disown the final political legacy of their founder, they should do so and "allow the people of the state to exercise their democratic right to choose a new representative government that not only resumes the responsibilities of governance but also safeguards the sensitive strategic and political interests of the state".

He said people of Jammu and Kashmir participated in the elections in such large numbers not because they wanted PDP to "first betray their mandate by aligning with the BJP and then for the PDP spokesperson to come out week after week asking the people to continue living in endless political instability.