Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, who heads the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has written to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and the Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma, saying that “time has come to make a united outreach” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to “prevail upon them to initiate a sustained dialogue with the people of Jammu & Kashmir”.
The call comes against the backdrop of significant progress in talks between the Centre and representatives from Leh and Kargil, who are jointly leading the agitation for statehood and the Sixth Schedule for Ladakh.
“Recent breakthroughs achieved by the Leh Apex Body & Kargil Democratic Alliance with the Centre offer an important lesson – only dialogue can deliver meaningful outcomes,” Mufti wrote to Abdullah. “Jammu & Kashmir finds itself yet again at a crossroads in its history where the pervasive feeling of despair and disillusionment has gripped the state. It necessitates a broad consensus above and across party and partisan lines to pull J&K out of the current debilitating stalemate. If we want to restore the dignity and security of our people, a constructive dialogue with the Government of India is a much needed imperative”.
While political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, barring the BJP, have been demanding the restoration of statehood and the restoration of the special status that was abrogated by the Centre on August 5, 2019, Mufti’s letter seeking a united approach is significant.
This is not the first time the former CM has made such an appeal, though her reaching across the aisle to the BJP is new.
A day before the abrogation, Mufti made the first such attempt to unite the political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, culminating in the formation of the Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD). While PAGD vowed to fight together for the special status and statehood, it was primarily seen as an anti-BJP alliance, especially as it fought the District Development Council polls jointly against the BJP and its allies.
“We have to keep our disagreements and contrarian views on the back burner to unite for the common good and collective welfare. This cannot become a matter of appropriating political credit or point scoring. Rather it must become a moment of unification in the largest interest of the people we all claim to represent,” she wrote to the CM.
“I therefore urge you as head of state to initiate the much-needed process of bringing all parties together through an official meeting. This will set the ball rolling for us to formally reach out to the central government. Given the fact that disagreements and squabbling between regional parties have been detrimental to the collective interests of J&K, a reasonable consensus, especially post 2019, is the only solution. If Ladakh could do it, so can we”.
Saying that the support of the Chief Minister is a “prerequisite for the success of this political platform”, Mufti added that “genuine unity in these difficult, unprecedented times can lead us towards restoring our rights and dignity of our people guaranteed by the Indian Constitution”.
“I do hope and sincerely request you to immediately call a formal meeting that includes political parties across Jammu & Kashmir. We simply cannot drag our feet any longer,” reads the letter, adding that she has already reached out to several political parties in J&K.
Mufti wrote a similar letter to BJP’s Sharma. “We must set aside our differences, disagreements, and competing political narratives in the larger interest of those we represent,” Mufti wrote.
