Never made any demand for extra ministerial berths: J-K BJP

With PDP President Mehbooba Mufti all set to assume the Jammu and Kashmir mantle, state BJP today said it had never made any demand for additional ministerial berths.
"See we (BJP) were clear from the beginning but our partner (PDP) wanted some clarification and once they were satisfied they decided to move ahead. Everything is now settled and we are looking forward with positivity to run the government effectively", BJP's candidate for deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh said.
He was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the state executive meeting of BJP and added that the meeting was a routine affair to discuss the party's strategy.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti is all set to become the first woman chief minister of the state as Governor N N Vohra today invited her to form the new government.
There have been reports about demands of a few BJP legislators on division of portfolios.
Asked whether the BJP had made any demand for additional ministerial berths, Singh said "our party never made such a demand. We are committed to the Agenda of Alliance (AoA) which is our basic document and all this is unconditional. There were no conditions but yes discussions do take place".

"As far as the ministerial berths are concerned, theswearing-in ceremony is taking place in Jammu on April 4, notification for which will be issued from Raj Bhavan. Who all will be ministers, we are already discussing that within the party and you will know it on the day of swearing-in".

Asked whether the new conditions laid down by the PDP have been accepted, he said, "there was no curtain and Agenda of Alliance is the only thing which has to be implemented in the next five years and that would be our main focus".
On the meeting, Singh said "it is a routine affair which takes place after every three months in which political and economic resolutions are discussed."
He said issues like how the party has functioned and its functioning in the future are deliberated upon during the meeting.
On the issue of Pakistani flag being "raised" in Kashmir just ahead of the government formation, Singh said that such incidents should not be linked with the formation of the government.

"We will never compromise on national security and whosoever indulges in such activities would be put behind the bars as was done in the past ten months", he said.