Two weeks after the controversial Valley erupted yet again, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh, was “unequivocally” told that the Centre could not offer a “dialogue (with separatists and other restive groups in the Valley) while there is stone-pelting and militant violence.” The growing rift between coalition partners PDP and BJP became more evident as Mufti reached New Delhi with a single request, which wasn't granted.
Sources said the uneasiness in the coalition over the handling of the security situation in Kashmir was also talked about in the meeting. The ruling coalition has been under severe stress ever since the PDP lost a seat in the recently held MLC polls when an independent MLA voted for a BJP candidate, prompting his victory. During her meeting with Singh, Mufti said she raised concerns about the recent bypolls in J&K which witnessed a low turnout and said that the alliance partners, to break the deadlock, must follow the path shown by her father and former chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. “Our agenda of alliance also got discussed. Mufti saheb was the home minister of this country and CM of J&K. He had given a roadmap for coming out of such situations in J&K,” she said.
The meeting was also attended by BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, the party's in-charge of J&K affairs. “There is no rift between BJP and PDP, there are some issues regarding the MLC election. We noticed a lack of communication and will address it. The main concern is to bring normalcy in Kashmir within 1-2 months, we have extended all support to the state,” Madhav said. Meanwhile, Mufti, addressing the media after her meeting with the PM, said, “We don't have control over our water resources and I stressed that he (PM) must think seriously about it... The loss incurred by our state because of the Indus Water Treaty is Rs 20,000 Crore a year. What can be done to compensate Jammu and Kashmir?”
Regarding a dialogue, she said, “We will have to create a conducive atmosphere for dialogue first. It cannot happen in a situation of confrontation. While there are stones pelting one side and firing on the other, perhaps dialogue isn't possible. We discussed all this as to how we will together create a situation in J&K where governance is possible, development is possible and dialogue is possible.
The region has been rife with violence, after students began protesting when police raided a degree college in restive Pulwama, without prior permission of the college administration leading to a clash in which 50 students were injured.
