Mehbooba Mufti in trouble again as senior PDP leader threatens to quit
PDP vice-president Muzaffar Hussain Beigh said that he might join a ‘third front’ with Sajad Gani Lone.
Srinagar: A senior leader of Mehbooba Mufti-led Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday said that he might join the ‘third front’ with Sajad Gani Lone of the Peoples’ Conference (PC) as it is striving hard to provide a “credible alternative” in Jammu and Kashmir’s mainstream politics.
“If the third front emerges in Jammu and Kashmir, which is also what Sajad Lone is striving for, I will seriously consider it,” PDP vice-president and former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Beigh said at a press conference here.
He added, “For me, Peoples Conference is like home and Sajad Lone is like my son. He should be encouraged as he wants to form a third front with good intentions.”
Lone, a former minister from BJP quota in the Mufti-led PDP-BJP government, recently said that his party PC is emerging as "a credible alternative to the dynastic rule in the State", a reference to National Conference of the Abdullah's and PDP of the Mufti's which have ruled for the most part after 1947.
Beigh said that he was speaking his “heart out” but said that he has not yet decided to quit the PDP. He said that a year ago PDP had formed a committee to amend its constitution.
“I was the chairman of the committee. We submitted a report to party president Mehbooba Mufti. A meeting was supposed to be called but that never happened. Now, I will decide my future only after I get a response from the party about the statements I make today. If PDP doesn’t take note then I may change my party,” Beigh said.
He said that he had joined hands with late Mufti Muhammad Sayeed and formed the PDP to fight for political space and do away with the family rule in J&K. He, however, alleged that the voice of party cadres is being ignored by the PDP leadership.
He also added that the PDP formed an alliance with BJP when there was no coherence among the ministers. “Initially I was consulted, only for a day, when they aligned with the BJP. Unless there is a meeting of minds, this alliance won’t work. I had told Mehbooba. But we failed to form a true alliance with the BJP. There was no coordination at all.”