The Hindu : Mufti promises stable govt.

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 31, 2002

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Mufti promises stable govt.

By Shujaat Bukhari

The Jammu and Kashmir PCC chief, Ghulam Nabi Azad, with the Governor, G.C. Saxena, the PDP president, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, and the CPI(M) leader, Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, at the Raj Bhavan in Srinagar on Wednesday. — Photo: Nissar Ahmad

SRINAGAR OCT. 30. The Jammu and Kashmir Governor, Girish Chandra Saxena, today invited the president of the People's Democratic Party, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, to form the next government in the State after he formally staked his claim for the same.

Accompanied by the State Congress president, Ghulam Nabi Azad, the People's Democratic Forum (PDF) convener, Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, and the Jammu and Kashmir Panther's Party chief, Bhim Singh, Mr. Sayeed met Mr. Saxena and produced letters of support from 50 MLAs.

Speaking to presspersons, Mr. Saxena said "I have gone through all the support letters and I am satisfied that Mufti Saheb is in the capacity to form the next government in Jammu and Kashmir.''

Mr. Sayeed later said that he was committed to a responsive administration and a government that was accountable. "We will implement all the measures that we promised during the elections and included in the common minimum programme." He hoped that the Congress-PDP coalition would prove good for the State. "We have a pragmatic alliance for a stable government... we will try to include all the regions in the government," he said.

Ruling out any problems in government formation, Mr. Azad said "we will not demand key portfolios and it will be left to the Chief Minister.''

The new government will be sworn in on November 2. The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, will attend the ceremony.

Addressing a public meeting at the PCC headquarters earlier, Mr. Azad appealed to the militants in Jammu and Kashmir to shun violence and come forward to help restore peace and normality. "You should also lay down your arms just as the militants in Assam and Mizoram did... do not waste your energy and intellect in the rough mountain terrain but help in the development of Kashmir,'' he said. Peace could be restored in the State only through a dialogue and not through the gun and the grenade. Mr. Azad, however, made it clear that foreign militants would be "dealt with firmly.''

Expressing confidence that the new government would live up to the people's expectations, he said "our priority will be to work towards peace and remove hurdles to facilitate a dialogue.''

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