Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Jan 14: The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) today showed cold shoulder towards National Conference’s unconditional support for the formation of Government saying that the PDP is the largest political party in the State and it will pick up its partner.
PDP spokesman Naeem Akhtar while commenting on the letter sent by NC’s Working President Omar Abdullah to Governor N N Vohra yesterday to inform him about his party’s support to PDP said: “The PDP is the largest political party in the State and it will pick up its partner based on the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) which should include our priorities for peace, reconciliation, cross-Line of Control (LoC) travel and trade and revocation of laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) to give people access to justice.”
Akhtar said that people have voted the NC out of power and they can’t take a decision on Government formation. “They know, they can’t be the king and want to assume the role of king maker”, he said.
The PDP spokesman said that the NC wants to come to power through backdoor. “People punished them for their crimes they committed against them for past six years. Now they have this thought of shortcut to power”, he added.
The PDP spokesman said that the NC should realize that they have been pushed to the margins in the political scene of the State and can’t decide about Government formation. “The people have voted against the NC in the elections and with just 15 seats, they cannot decide on the Government formation,” he said.
After PDP’s cold shoulder response to NC offer, the NC today said its offer is limited to outside support for Government formation.
NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar said his party is not interested in being a part of government. “Unlike PDP, our party is guided by principles and a political ideology that is rooted in the aspirations and sentiments of the people”, a statement issued by him said here.
“It should be amply clear that the NC’s offer to PDP was an offer of outside support for PDP to form the Government in J&K and that National Conference is not interested in being a part of such a Government in the State”, the statement said.
Sagar charged PDP of making U-turns to come to power in the State. “We have put our ideology over the lure of power, something that quite understandably seems inconceivable for a party like the PDP which is ready to make every possible compromise and U-turn to come to power in the State”, he added.
The NC General Secretary said that PDP wants to come to power at any cost. “Even if that means contradicting everything PDP leaders said during the campaign for the Assembly elections”, he said.
Sagar said that if the NC had been interested in being part of a Government in the State, it could have aligned with the BJP which was an option readily available to NC after the election results came out.
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