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Onkar Singh in Srinagar
The Peoples Democratic Party chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on Tuesday blamed the Congress for the stalemate over the formation of a coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking to reporters at his residence in Nowgam on the outskirts of capital Srinagar, the Mufti said the Congress must rise above narrow political considerations to honour the voters' verdict.
He said if the state headed for governor's rule [after the October 17 deadline], the PDP would not share the blame for it.
"Since the PDP has won the mandate of the people in the Valley and defeated the National Conference, the new government has to be led by the PDP," the Mufti said.
He said he was upset with the manner in which the Congress was dealing with the matter of government formation.
"Where was the need for the Congress party to say that they have got support of so many independents. We could have also indulged in this [numbers game]. But I do not believe in the politics of breaking people and parties," he said.
Asked if there was any possibility of some MLAs from his party breaking away if the Congress managed 40-41 MLAs, the Mufti said: "PDP is a movement...I do not expect anyone of my MLAs breaking away. Let them try. I do not expect anyone to break away from PDP. I do not foresee any split in the party," he said.
The Mufti said the PDP has made certain commitments to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and these can be implemented only if there was a PDP-led government in the state.
"We have had some problems [with the Congress] on a common minimum programme as well," he said.
The Mufti said he held four rounds of discussions with the Congress leadership in Delhi last week before returning to Srinagar.
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