NEW DELHI, 20 October — The main opposition Congress party yesterday took a fresh initiative on government formation in Jammu and Kashmir by deputing senior leader Manmohan Singh for talks in Srinagar with the regional People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Singh would hold talks with PDP President Mufti Muhammad Sayeed during his visit to the state today, Congress leader Ambika Soni said here.
"An early solution is possible," Singh added, expressing confidence that the stalemate would end soon. "The Congress, PDP and other like-minded people have the mandate of the people."
Congress President Sonia Gandhi took the decision to send Singh, the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, after consultations with her party colleagues yesterday. This followed Sayeed’s assertion that the PDP would forge an alliance with other parties on his terms or sit in opposition.
"Manmohan Singh will continue the process of consultations on the issue of forming a coalition government," Soni said, "Our main objective is to consolidate the mandate of the people. It should not be frittered away", she said.
The Congress and the PDP, which have 36 seats between them in the 87-member assembly, have failed in efforts to forge an alliance due to differences on which party will nominate the chief minister.
The Congress decision came hours after Kashmir Governor G.C. Saxena said there was no deadline for the formation of a government in the state and asked the political parties to come up with a "credible claim."
Saxena had earlier asked parties to stake their claim to form a government by tomorrow, but was forced to impose governor’s rule on Thursday, after caretaker Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah refused to continue in office. The governor told reporters yesterday: "The doors for formation of the government will remain open beyond Oct. 21."
Meanwhile, a policeman was killed and 15 people were wounded yesterday when suspected rebels set off a bomb in Kashmir, a paramilitary spokesman said.
The spokesman said the bomb had exploded on a road in Sopore town in northern Kashmir when a Border Security Force (BSF) vehicle was passing by.
The governor said yesterday the region was still in the grip of violence, despite the end of elections that were relentlessly attacked by militants. Saxena claimed the infiltration of Muslim militants into the Indian zone of Kashmir was continuing from Pakistan-administered region.
"The infiltration continues. Even as I speak there are encounters going on (in Kashmir)," he told a news conference at Srinagar’s governor house. He accused Pakistan of stepping up violence during the elections. "There is no denying that during the period of elections from the other side there was every effort to step-up terrorist violence, to intimidate the electorate and the candidates," he alleged.
