BJP ‘not inclined’ to form government

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 14

The BJP is not inclined to form a government in Jammu and Kashmir as it sees the situation far from being conducive. Discounting a spate of reports talking of formation of an alternative government as imminent, party sources said, “we are not interested in forming the government in the given circumstances in the next six months or even till the general election.”

Logic defies all these speculations, a top BJP leader told The Tribune. “One, we do not have the numbers. Two, the National Conference and the Congress will not support us. Three, a break-up in the PDP will not send a very good message across the country. Four, Governor’s rule suits us, we will be able to push in the development agenda in a more effective way,” said the leader who did not wish to be identified.

He said the BJP was prepared to wait for as long as it takes for the situation to get under control. “We are also prepared for President’s rule in the state (after six months),” he said, adding that such speculations (about government formation) were mostly courtesy Opposition parties and some BJP leaders to whom “the idea looked appealing.”

Leaders admit that the ground situation in the state was currently not in the favour of the BJP. There has also not been much change in the situation since the break-up. In fact, if elections are held in the state today, many of saffron legislators and parliamentarians would not manage to save their seats. In such a scenario, it is better to forego the idea till the situation gets under control, they add.

For that matter even PDP legislators are not in a very happy situation, say observers. Its alliance with the BJP alienated its “soft on separatism” political constituency, they say, adding that the PDP is facing deep anger in its bastion of south Kashmir — the breeding ground for fresh wave of local militancy.

Madhav: Mehbooba spreading lies

• BJP general secretary Ram Madhav on Saturday castigated PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti for her Friday’s statement and accused her of “spreading lies”. Asserting that no one in Delhi was trying to break the PDP, Madhav said, “Instead of resolving their internal conflicts, they’re blaming Delhi and threatening in name of terrorism. As far as the BJP is concerned, we are not trying to break any party.” 
• For threats like ‘Salahuddin’, the government and the security forces would take measures to “neutralise terrorists in the Valley and those who might take to terrorism due to Mehbooba”, he added.
• Mehbooba had on Friday accused the BJP of trying to engineer a split in the PDP, like in 1987. Warning that consequences could be “extremely dangerous”, she also recalled how the 1987 Assembly elections “created” Syed Salahuddin