By NAK,
Srinagar : Ending speculations, Peoples Democratic Party on Tuesday welcomed the National Conference and Congress alliance and said that it was ready to play the role of a constructive opposition” in Jammu and Kashmir as it did not have the numbers in the assembly to form a government.
“We welcome the new coalition government in the state”, former chief minister and PDP Patron told media men, here this afternoon.
He said that Congress was having discretion to align with any political party. “We had no communication with the Congress party over the alliance as has been wrongly published in some news papers”, he said.
“There has been no communication with either the UPA chairperson or the Prime Minister,” he said but added he expected that as a coalition partner the Congress should talk to them morally.
When a reporter suggested that there was a tinge of pain in him, Sayeed said “there is no question of any pain. Politics is the art of the possible. I have seen many such situations in the past.”
“We are part and parcel of the UPA and we have not dissociated from it. It is the sweet discretion of the Congress party to which party they want to align with but as an alliance partner (at the Centre) they are morally bound to inform us,” Sayeed said in the first appearance before the media since results were declared. Sayeed said nothing has been conveyed to the PDP leadership or president Mehbooba Mufti with regard to formation of an alliance in the state as “we don’t have any communication” with Congress on this issue.
The former chief minister, who ruled the state from 2002-2005 as part of power sharing agreement with Congress following a hung verdict in last elections, said the PDP expected the Congress to “consult us” and “talk to us”. “We expect, before taking any decision, the Congress will inform us,” he added. Asked if he was still hopeful about forming an alliance with Congress, Sayeed said it was not a question of being hopeful.
His daughter and the party president Mehbooba Mufti had almost same to say. “There have been no talks about supporting or not supporting. We have left the decision to the Congress since we do not make the numbers together (to form a government)”.
She added, “We have been given mandate by the people to sit in opposition and we are ready play a constructive role”.
In response to a question she added that her party has its own agenda and programmes to follow.
After the 2002 assembly polls, the PDP and the Congress ruled in J-K by turns with two parties getting the chief minister’s post in rotation but fell out with each other in the aftermath of the Amarnath land row earlier this year.
PDP withdrew support to the Congress-led government in June, leading to resignation of the then chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad followed by dissolution of the state assembly and promulgation of Governor’s rule in the state.