Headlines
Are differences on Article 370, AFSPA delaying BJP-PDP pact?
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By Sheikh QayoomWhile the PDP and BJP's
'informal negotiations' for government formation in Jammu and Kashmir
are progressing smoothly, the two sides are still dragging their feet on
contentious issues like Article 370 and the AFSPA.
Insiders in
both parties -- the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) -- in Jammu and Srinagar told IANS that the two
sides have agreed on a full six-year term as chief minister for PDP
patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed.
"The BJP will have the deputy chief
minister and a major share in portfolios to ensure equitable
development of all the three regions of the state.
"We feel to
forge a development-oriented ruling alliance with the PDP in the
country's only Muslim majority state would do good to the image of the
BJP nationally and internationally," a senior BJP leader said in Jammu.
The leader, requesting anonymity, said at the same time the party would not make any compromises on its "basic principles".
The
BJP's stand on contentious issues like Article 370, Armed Forces
Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the settlement of west Pakistan refugees
in Jammu and Kashmir has been diagonally opposed to that of the PDP.
The
PDP seeks firm assurances on protection of Article 370, the BJP stands
for a national debate on whether this temporary provision of the Indian
constitution, granting special status to J&K, should stay or go.
According
to the PDP, the west Pakistan refugees are not permanent residents of
the state, as it existed before the accession of J&K to India in
1947.
Therefore, the PDP says there is no constitutional or
legal justification in granting these refugees the same rights like
other citizens.
Incidentally, these refugees who came here after
the India-Pakistan wars of 1947, 1965 and 1971 do not have the right to
buy property or vote in the state assembly elections, though they can
vote in the parliamentary elections.
While the BJP maintains that
the AFSPA can only be revoked after the security forces recommend it,
the PDP wants its gradual withdrawal to be determined by the state
government and not the security forces.
PDP's chief spokesman
Naeem Akhtar, who spoke on these issues to IANS in Jammu, said, "Mufti
Muhammad Sayeed has been in politics for too long to blink on basics.
"He
wants clarity on issues like Article 370 and AFSPA and that clarity has
to be in conformity with the commitments we have made to the people
when we sought their vote.
"For the development of all the three
regions of the state and also for the new government to deliver on
political, developmental and administrative fronts, clarity on basic
issues is vital.
"Mufti Sahib cannot become chief minister
because you assure him a full six-year term. The chief minister has to
be able to deliver and face his people and for that he needs clarity on
issues."
Akhtar dismissed reports that an agreement on an alliance is likely to be announced within the next two to three days.
"We
have to agree on a CMP (common minimum programme) in a transparent,
structured dialogue. The CMP would be made public before the PDP and the
BJP stake claim to form the government.
"Interestingly, more
than the PDP and the BJP, it is the National Conference that seems to be
'worried' about how soon we stake claim on government formation.
"Doesn't
this prove that had the ball been in the NC's court they would have
played it even without caring where it would land the people of the
state?" Akhtar said.
In brief, the PDP and the BJP are still taxing their brains on how to meet each other half way on article 370 and AFSPA.
Could
the impasse on these basic issue become a stalemate that would deny
Jammu and Kashmir an elected government even after the massive
participation of the people in the election held in Nov-Dec last year?
Top PDP and BJP leaders believe the hurdle is high, but they are optimistic about crossing it.
(Sheikh Qayoom can be contacted at [email protected])