Jammu, October 22
The Leader of the Legislature Congress Party and the PCC President, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad has told all the 20 party MLAs not to leave Srinagar for the time being.
The instructions were conveyed by Mr Azad on the telephone from Delhi today indicating that the Congress had decided to stake the claim to form government even if the PDP refused to support it or joined the coalition.
Party sources said all 15 Congress MLAs from Jammu region continued to be lodged in Broadway Hotel since October 11 awaiting induction into the Congress-headed coalition government.
The sources said the Congress leaders, especially Dr Manmohan Singh, had put forward several options to Mufti Mohammad Sayeed during his two meetings in Srinagar. One offer was that in the Congress-PDP coalition government all 16 MLAs belonging to the PDP would be inducted in the Council of Ministers. In addition to this the post of Deputy Chief Minister with Home portfolio would be given to Ms Mehbooba Mufti. When the Congress negotiator felt the Mufti was unrelenting he had also suggested that the post of the Chief Minister be filled by rotation.
Congress party sources said the party legislators had protested against the delay in government formation. They had also resented the way the Congress leadership was trying hard to win over the Mufti who had lost his base in the Jammu region by claiming the post of Chief Minister as he belonged to Kashmir.
One Congress MLA told the Tribune that “It will be difficult for us to face our electorate in the Jammu region who had voted in our favour, if we succumb to the demands and conditions of the Mufti.”
He confirmed reports that the Congress would stake claim to form the government in a day or two as it had the support of 40 MLAs which included Independent candidates, one from Ladakh, four MLAs from the Panthers Party. He said as such the Congress-led coalition was the largest single party and the Governor was supposed to invite Mr Azad to form the Government.
He said that “we have conveyed to Ms Sonia Gandhi through Mr Azad and Dr Manmohan Singh, that the Congress will be wiped out in the next election in the Jammu region if we played second fiddle to the Mufti who had kicked up fresh regional passion.”
The Congress legislator also confirmed that several PDP MLAs had assured Mr Azad of their support once he formed the Government.
Reports indicated that the Congress leadership would make a final attempt to rope in
the PDP and if the Mufti proved a tough nut to crack then it would stake claim without the support of the PDP. Party sources said it was because of the intervention of Ms Sonia Gandhi that the Congress leadership in Kashmir deferred forcing a split in the PDP. Ms Sonia Gandhi is said to have told her partymen in Srinagar that it was better for the Congress and the PDP to join hands which alone could result in a durable and representative government.
The state unit of the CPI has urged the Congress and the PDP to rise above regional and petty issues and respect the verdict of the people and form the government in order to prevent separatists and militants from hijacking democracy in the state once again.
