Jammu and Kashmir government falls apart as BJP pulls the rug from under it

Out going Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti addresses a press conference

The three-year-old Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government, wracked by bitter political feuds and worsening security challenges, collapsed on Tuesday with the BJP pulling out of its alliance with the PDP, setting the stage for yet another round of Governor's rule.

BJP general secretary Ram Madhav made the surprise announcement after the party high command summoned its J&K ministers for emergency consultations in New Delhi. A few hours later, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti submitted her resignation to Governor N N Vohra. "It has become untenable for the BJP to continue in the alliance government in the state," Madhav told the media at a press meet in the national capital. Presenting her point of view, Mehbooba said in Srinagar that the PDP has always maintained that a muscular security policy would not work in the state.

Security personnel stand guard at Lal Chowk area in Srinagar, on Tuesday. Pics/PTI

"We will continue to strive for dialogue and reconciliation in J&K," the PDP leader said and added that the alliance with the BJP was not for power. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, whose party is the third biggest in the assembly, captured the drama with one sentence, "I wish Mehbooba Mufti had resigned herself... instead of having the rug pulled from under her feet."

Madhav said the decision to withdraw was taken after consulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah. Immediately after his news conference, senior PDP minister and the party's chief spokesperson Naeem Akhthar told the media in Srinagar that the BJP's decision had caught the party by surprise.