PDP tries to downplay its leader’s comments on NC; Abdullah-led party says attempt was to break unity

Srinagar, Aug 1 (PTI) The PDP on Tuesday sought to downplay the remarks of its leader Waheed Parra against the National Conference, saying the party has taken a conscious decision to be part of the PAGD and set aside political differences for the interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

In what could spell trouble for the opposition unity in Jammu and Kashmir, Parra, who is PDP’s youth president, on Monday said most of the political parties, including the National Conference, have limited their demands to holding elections or seeking concessions from the BJP.

Trying to downplay Parry’s comments, PDP chief spokesperson Suhail Bukhari said, “I really don’t know in what context those words came in. This could have been a reaction for any NC leader from the PDP as there have been instances when NC leaders have spoken against PDP. However, we have to understand that both NC and PDP are two separate political parties which do have differences of opinion, political differences or else it would have been a single party.”

Having said that, he said, the party has taken a conscious decision to leave its political differences aside at the current juncture for the larger interest of the rights and dignity of the people of J-K.

“A pivotal role is being played by PDP president Mehbooba Mufti against the current regime. It was done to represent the people of Jammu and Kashmir in terms of voicing their concern, resisting on behalf of the people of J-K as a whole and fighting for the restoration of rights and dignity,” Bukhari told PTI.

The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), an alliance of various political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, including the PDP and the NC, was formed after the revocation of Article 370 by the Centre in 2019.

Bukhari said the BJP also knows that “united we are a force that would resist the onslaught on our rights” and it is not just the requirement, it is also the desire of the people of J-K”.

Referring to Parra’s statement, the National Conference said such remarks from the PDP at a “crucial juncture” were “unbecoming” and it was not expected from the party.

NC state spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said the PDP started the blame game of targeting his party even though there has been no trigger from their side.

“We are short of words that why suddenly they are bringing up fake narratives as what they are saying has no legs to stand on. Even we have numerous things we can say about the PDP, but we are not doing anything like that as NC is a disciplined party.

“Right now we are working for a cause — (seeking) rights of people of J-K that were unconstitutionally taken from them by the current regime. As this is a very sensitive time, we fail to understand what made them say this at this time when the Supreme Court of India is taking up our PIL tomorrow,” Dar said.

Earlier, in a tweet, Dar alleged that Parra intended to sow confusion among the opposition ranks.

“If you feel suffocated within the alliance, simply walk away instead of resorting to fake narratives to justify your actions. While we are aware of your historical blunders, our priority was Unity,” he said.

The NC state spokesperson said such utterances create confusion as people are worried right now and they have pinned their hopes on the alliance.

“And speaking in such a manner at this crucial juncture is unbecoming and it was not expected from the PDP,” he said.

Dar said the ball was in the PDP’s court and the party has to come clean on the issue.

NC’s additional spokesperson Sara Hayat Shah, while taking to Twitter, said politics is not only the art of impossible but the undercurrents of it are comical too.

“Post August 5, 2019, Jammu and Kashmir needed sincere political leadership to safeguard the interests of people and not to concede ground for the forces that are on to defeat the essence of our Constitution

“Over time, the collective voice against the politics of bigotry has grown stronger and the only reason is the uncompromising stand of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference. Pages of history are witness to the fact that this political party has emancipated from grassroots for the people and by the people,” she said.

Lashing out at the PDP, Shah questioned the Mehbooba Mufti-led party’s “DNA” and accused it of making “desperate” attempts for its “resurgence by twisting facts”.

She said as far as the NC is concerned, “we have made sacrifices and we consider ourselves duty-bound to voice the people’s aspirations without fear or favour”.

“Politics is not about hashtags or slogans, it’s about the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference is committed to the people,” Shah added.

NC’s provincial youth president, Kashmir, Salman Sagar said the PDP was looking for excuses to break the unity efforts of the his party post-August 5, 2019, when the Centre revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and bifurcated it into Union territories.

BJP’s J-K spokesman Altaf Thakur, while commenting over the issue, said the PAGD has already been disintegrated.

“Now there is the coalition of only two families which they are calling as PAGD. Yesterday, these two political parties were agitated with each other as they have understood that neither of them can save J-K which they think is their private property and that their competition is with the BJP,” he said.

Thakur said it might be because of the “fear of their incompetence” that both parties have decided to take separate ways.

“BJP, from the beginning, is saying that they are opportunists, they want to save themselves from the scams that they have done which is the reason for their unity. Yesterday, we saw that this alliance has been broken and no kind of alliance can compete with the BJP,” he said.

The PDP and the NC neither have any position at the national level nor at the regional level, he said.

“PAGD was the coalition of two parties and now they are also separated The world knows that the NC did rigging in 1987 elections. NC is the breeder of the terror. The people of Kashmir have also understood all the doings of the NC and the PDP,” Thakur said.