“I am not shocked.” It was Mehbooba Mufti's first reaction at a press conference after the BJP pulled out of the alliance with the PDP in J&K on Tuesday.
Anyone who had been following the politics of J&K shouldn’t be surprised either, as it was just a matter of time before the alliance fell apart. On Tuesday, the BJP finally pulled the plug on the Mufti government in J&K. Soon, she submitted her resignation to the Governor.
At a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday, BJP’s general secretary Ram Madhav said it has become impossible to continue in the government in view of the growing radicalism and terrorism in the state.
Earlier in the day, the BJP had called its cabinet ministers in Jammu and Kashmir to New Delhi for consultation with the party leadership, days after the Centre announced it would not extend the Ramzan ceasefire in the Valley.
The decision to withdraw was taken after consulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah, Madhav announced.
In 2015, the two parties had formed a coalition government after elections threw up a hung assembly, but they were ideologically divided on several issues.
Here are some of the issues that led to the rift:
- The alliance had been under constant strain since April after the gang-rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl from the nomadic Muslim community of Bakarwals in Jammu’s Kathua district. Two BJP ministers, Lal Singh and Chandar Prakash Ganga, were dropped from the coalition government for participating in protests in favour of the accused.
- The BJP blamed the PDP for failing to improve the security conditions in the Kashmir Valley. On Tuesday, Madhav said: “The Centre did everything for the Valley. We've tried to put a full-stop to the ceasefire violations by Pakistan. The PDP has not been successful in fulfilling its promises. Our leaders have been facing a lot of difficulties from the PDP in developmental works in Jammu & Ladakh.”
- Reportedly, military intelligence and NIA indicated that radicalisation in south Kashmir has gone up drastically, something Madhav also mentioned at the press conference. According to Madhav, terrorism, violence and radicalisation have risen and fundamental rights of the citizens are under danger in the Valley. “Senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari's killing is an example.” The same day -- two days before Eid -- an Army jawan was abducted while going on Eid leave and killed.
- The killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by the security forces in 2016 followed by tension in Kashmir was one of the main reasons behind the spat between the two parties. Sources told Outlook that the alliance had almost ended in 2016 too when the Valley had witnessed a prolonged period of violence and unrest after killing of Wani. The PDP is believed to have objected to the killing and was in favour of taking him alive. “We let that pass as problem of coalition and tried to accommodate the chief minister but then it cannot go on forever,” a senior BJP leader said. Last year, the differences had cropped up among the ruling alliance partners on how to tackle stone pelters with senior BJP leader and J&K minister for industries, Chandra Prakash Ganga, favouring dealing stone throwing youth with bullets, while the PDP said such remarks could hit government’s efforts of restoring peace in strife-hit Valley.
- Another reason could be the Mufti government’s proposal for allotment of government land to Jamiat Ahle Hadees (JAH). Recently, the JAH's state secretary general approached Mufti with a representation requesting allotment of land for Eidgah on permanent basis. According to media reports, Mufti wrote a letter to the divisional commissioner's office for allotment of 50 kanal (6.25 acres approx) of land to the religious organisation. The BJP had opposed to any such move.
