Rustam
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Mar 7: It is very interesting. In India, parties like the National Conference, the Congress and Janata Dal United have opposed the alliance between the PDP and the BJP. They have said both parties compromised their stated positions for the sake of power. Significantly, both the NC and the Congress had approached the PDP for the formation of what they called "secular" government and they had reminded the PDP that it would be the negation of the Kashmiri mandate in case it formed coalition government with the "communal" BJP, but with no result, as the PDP didn't accept the offer of support. The Congress had even gone to the extent of asking the PDP to form a grand alliance between the PDP, the NC, the Congress and independent legislators from Kashmir to keep the BJP out of the government and respect the "Kashmiri sentiment".
As for the separatist outfits in the Valley, they have said elections and the formation of the PDP-BJP coalition government don't mean anything for them and insisted that the only solution to the Kashmir problem is trilateral talks based on the UN resolutions on Jammu & Kashmir - talks leading to the grant of right to self-determination to the people of Kashmir. They have also accused the PDP of becoming an agent of India. The formation of the PDP-BJP coalition government in the state has, in a nutshell, not gone down well with the so-called secular political parties and separatist and militant outfits for obvious reasons.
Contrarily, the formation of the PDP-BJP coalition government has evoked positive response in Pakistan. More than 60 per cent of the respondents have approved of the PDP-BJP coalition government in Jammu & Kashmir. In fact, an online survey conducted by a leading daily of Pakistan on March 4 showed more than 60 per cent of the respondents approving of the PDP-BJP coalition government. According to the PTI report, which emanated from Islamabad, has said: "As many as 60.23 per cent of the 6,475 respondents ticked the 'approve' box in the online poll carried out by Pakistani daily, The Dawn, which posted the results on its twitter handle".
The Dawn, as per the PTI report, had asked the respondents "Do you approve or disapprove of the BJP-PDP coalition government in Indian-held Kashmir?" It is important to note that of the total number of respondents, 39.77 per cent didn't endorse the alliance between the PDP and the BJP, which were ideologically poles apart and held different views on issues like revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act and Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, resumption of talks with Islamabad and Hurriyat leadership in the Valley and grant of citizenship rights to the refugees from West Pakistan. |
