Former separatist leader and chairman of his faction of People's Conference, Sajjad Lone met prime minister Narendra Modi at his residence hinting at a post-poll alliance with BJP in Jammu and Kashmir.
Lone met Modi at 7RCR on Monday afternoon and described the prime minister as 'down-to-earth elder brother' and a 'great human being. Lone stated that he met Modi to strictly talk about the situation in Kashmir in wake of floods but maintained that he has kept his post poll alliance options open as well.
"I don't believe in ideology of A is good and B is bad. I don't think Congress is angelic and others are devils," Lone told reporters outside PM's residence.
Jammu and Kashmir is going for polls from November 25 and Kupwara area in north Kashmir is the traditional stronghold of People's Conference. Sajjad claims that his party would sweep all the 15 assembly constituencies in Baramulla district of north Kashmir.
Senior BJP leaders Ram Madhav and J P Nadda had also met Lone separately at his residence in Srinagar. Both the leaders did not rule out the possibility of post poll alliance with Lone's party.
"I met Prime Minister as a Kashmiri to discuss relief, rehabilitation and restoration of Kashmir. He has the experience of turning deserts of Kutch in Gujarat into tourist destination after disastrous earthquake," said Lone, who became the first separatist after 1989 to fight Lok Sabha elections unsuccessfully in 2009. Lone said that it was the opportunity to develop Kashmir as the prototype of a Smart City.
Lone suggested that a six-lane expressway from Srinagar to Kupwara, Medical College and University should be setup to bridge the gap of both distance and opportunities. He also identified the enormous scope for tourism in the area such as in the little known and presently inaccessible area's of the Bangus and Lolaab Valleys, LoC tourism and eco-tourism.
According to Lone, Prime Minister, agreed on all the points and said that he would hand them over to concerned ministries for execution.
