Prime minister (PM) Manmohan Singh’s efforts to get everybody on board for the all-party meeting convened by chief minister (CM) Omar Abdullah on Monday suffered a setback when the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) turned down the invite, saying the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government had “lost credibility among people”.
“It was kind of PM to call me yesterday [on Saturday]. I have deep regard and respect for him. However, it was painful to convey my inability to attend the meet. I told him the situation [in Kashmir] is so bad, we need to reach out to the people,” PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti told reporters on Sunday.
The leader of opposition in the state assembly said she also thanked Union home minister P Chidambaram for calling her on Saturday.
“The [J&K] government is hiding its failures. They have exhausted all force to suppress anger. CM is in damage-control mode. The government has lost confidence of the people. CM has demonised his own people by dubbing the entire population stone-pelters. Therefore, we asked PM to excuse us,” she said.
Mehbooba took a jab at Omar, who had also phoned her on Saturday. “He was acting like [former US president] George Bush that either you are with us or with them… If I attend [the meeting], I will become the solution, if I don’t I shall become a part of the problem,” she said.
Mehbooba sought PM’s personal intervention to defuse the crisis in Kashmir. “There is a need for a bigger initiative which will be taken seriously by the people. Since PM has credibility, I request him to intervene,” she said.
The PDP president proposed measures to restore people’s confidence. “The crackdown launched by the state government should be stopped. Curbs on the media should be lifted. PM should look into FIRs registered against mediapersons and the army should be recalled,” she said.
A visibly upset state government said the ball was in Mehbooba’s court. “You better ask her why she turned down PM’s request. We have called her to the meeting and she has to take a call,” Ali Mohammad Sagar, J&K law and parliamentary affairs minister, said.
On Mehbooba’s frontal attack on the state government, Sagar said they (PDP) had a one-point agenda of criticising it.
Meanwhile, Kashmir continued to be tense. The government put more restrictions on Hurriyat hardliners, who have released a fresh protest calendar. They have called for a two-day bandh from Sunday, a march to Naqshband Sahib on July 13 and sit-ins at district headquarters on July 14 and 15.
Media curbs off
After four days of suspension, newspapers in the Valley will hit the stands on Monday. This comes after an assurance from the government that curfew passes issued to scribes would be entertained by the security agencies. Newspapers had suspended publication on July 7 following complaints that journalists with curfew passes were not being allowed to move around.
