BJP, RSS to discuss coalition logjam in J&K over Mehbooba’s demands
Members of the Jammu and Kashmir BJP unit will be meeting the RSS at its headquarters in New Delhi on Wednesday to discuss ways to end the logjam with the PDP.
A delegation of BJP’s Jammu and Kashmir unit will meet the RSS brass at the Sangh’s headquarters in Jhandewalan on Wednesday to review the performance of the party in the state and also discuss the future of the coalition with the Peoples Democratic Party.
Senior BJP leaders including the state unit chief Sat Sharma, deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh, MP Avinash Khanna will meet RSS’ Krishna Gopal, Brig. Suchet Singh and Jammu and Kashmir in-charge Ramesh Papa to discuss the political logjam.
Read more: J-K govt formation: PDP chief Mehbooba hints at snapping ties with BJP
A senior RSS official said the meeting is a “routine” affair, but the matter is pertinent given the political uncertainty BJP faces in Jammu and Kashmir. Following the death of PDP’s founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, daughter Mehbooba took over as party head and state chief minister, throwing the coalition in a limbo.
Reports of differences within the BJP’s state unit over the government formation also surfaced. “There are some party colleagues who are not happy with the demands being made by Mehbooba Mufti. Their point of view will also be shared with the Sangh,” a BJP member said.
Even as the national party maintained that it was working to address the concerns of the new PDP chief, and that the coalition will not be terminated, a section of the BJP is unsettled on account of the protracted negotiations.
Read more: Mehbooba can’t keep J-K guessing on govt formation: Omar Abdullah
“It is not easy for the BJP cadre to agree to the PDP’s demand of initiating dialogue with separatists, revocation of AFSPA and withdrawal of troops. These issues will also be discussed at the review meeting with the Sangh,” the BJP member said.
Read more: Uncertainty looms over J-K govt formation as PDP, BJP pass buck
On Monday, BJP MP Arun Ram Meghwal met Mehbooba Mufti at her residence in Srinagar. Officially, Meghwal was said to have met the chief minister in his capacity as head of the Parliamentary House Committee, but sources said the PDP’s conditions also figured in the discussion.