Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President and Member Parliament, Mehbooba Mufti Tuesday said her party wants a government in Jammu and Kashmir not for power but for inspiring confidence among the people, about its ability to solve the multiple problems faced by the State on political, economic, administrative and financial fronts.
“I told the Governor that we want a government in the State that will actively address the plethora of problems confronting Jammu and Kashmir and for this Central Government shall have to take some concrete confidence building measures," Mehbooba told reporters after meeting the Governor, N N Vohra at Raj Bhavan here Tuesday.
Mehbooba said most of the crucial political, economic and administrative issues that need immediate attention through tangible confidence building steps, both by the State and the Central Government, have already been emphasized in the ‘Agenda of Alliance’ and if implemented with sincerity of purpose these could to a large extent respond to the complex problems of J&K, faced as it is with decades long political uncertainty, economic disempowerment, development deficit, unfulfilled aspirations and mounting unemployment.
Mehbooba said despite having taken a huge political risk of going against the public sentiment in Kashmir by aligning not with BJP or Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, but with the people who elected Modi. “It was the credibility and stature of Mufti Sahab that despite facing enormous resource constraints and frequent unsettling issues during the past 10 months, he kept the things moving on the governance and development fronts and even ventured out into the areas in Kashmir, especially in Srinagar, where no mainstream politician would dare to go,” she said and added that although PDP faced various challenges in the 10 months of its alliance with BJP, unfortunately, Mufti Sahab’s resolute decision was not reciprocated by the Central Government, the way he expected it to be.
Mehbooba said that Mufti Sahab had a vision that given the decisive mandate enjoyed by Narendra Modi, the Government of India, under him, would take effective and realistic steps to address the political, economic and administrative challenges confronting J&K to ensure lasting peace and stability in the State. “Mufti Sahab’s vision was not only to bring the people of various regions closer to each other, but to bridge the trust deficit between J&K and the rest of the country and he expected adequate support from the Government of India in this enterprise of hope,” she said and added it's not about the BJP and PDP, it is about formation of a government in J&K which will pull the State out of the morass.
Mehbooba said if a government is to be formed in the State, it will have to take tangible measures to address the causes of alienation, trust and development deficit in Jammu and Kashmir and work towards finding a long-lasting solution to the problem plaguing the State for the past more than six decades. “Today, it is not about the BJP and PDP. It is about what we tell the people about fulfilling Mufti Sahab’s vision. We need tangible confidence building measures to be taken by the Central Government to give the new government in J&K a fillip,” she said and added the Centre needs to create an environment to infuse confidence, and unless that happens, we cannot move forward.Mehbooba was accompanied by senior PDP leader and Member Parliament, Muzaffar Hussain Baig during her meeting with the Governor. (KNS)