PDP ministers submits resignation to governor
Mehbooba turns down request of Patil, Narayanan
By News Agency of Kashmir,
Srinagar : In fallout of the Amarnath Shrine Board land allotment case, the more than five and half year coalition government in the state of Jammu and Kashmir has been reduced to minority as the main coalition alliance Peoples Democratic Party withdrew its support on Saturday.
Though the speculation of the possible pull out was hovering over the political horizon of the state from last more than a week, the final decision came after the Legislative Party meeting of the PDP, which was chaired by party president Mehbooba Mufti, soon after her return from London.
Well informed sources told News Agency of Kashmir that a three member team, led by chief whip of the party Abdul Aziz Zargar called on the newly appointed governor NN Vohra at Rajbhawan this evening. Others who accompanied Zargar include Dilawar Mir and Tariq Hameed Qarra.
The members reportedly submitted a written representation to the governor informing him about the withdrawal of the party support from the coalition government, sources told NAK.
They said that the legislative party meeting which discussed the transfer of forest land to Amarnath Shrine Board and its fallout in Kashmir Valley was unanimous in the decision to withdraw support from the government.
Announcing the decision to pullout of the government, Mehbooba Mufti said, “We cannot remain insensitive to the crisis.” She also informed the media persons outside her house all the ministers of her party have sent their letters of resignation to the Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.
She claimed that the decision was taken by her party on “moral grounds”. “We felt that it is our moral obligation to disassociate from government”, Mehbooba told media persons, soon after the meeting.
The PDP had said earlier that it would withdraw from the coalition if the controversial order of forest land allotment to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) was not cancelled by the end of this month.
Sources said that Mehbooba was called by home minister of India Shiv Raj Patil and National Security Advisor NK Narayanan and requested the former that the party should not take any decision in hast as the government was contemplating to find a way out.
“However, the PDP president out rightly rejected the offer and informed them that her party can not be part of any injustice or irregularity”, sources in the party circles told NAK.
Earlier in the morning PDP ministers, deputy chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, PHE minister Dilawar Mir and finance minister Tariq Hameed Qarra have separate rounds of talks with chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Sources claimed that the talks however failed as the PDP minister informed that the chief minister that the party has taken a final decision in view of the tense situation across Kashmir Valley in it would be futile exercise to hold any kind of party level talks to sort out the differences.
The Congress-PDP alliance came to power in 2002 after the state assembly elections in which the National Conference was voted out of power.
The PDP has 18 members in the 87 member’s assembly whereas Congress has 22 seats. After the withdrawal of support the government immediately falls into minority.
PDP has 18 MLAs in the 87-member state assembly while Congress has 21 members. The coalition has the support of eight independent MLAs and two CPM legislators.