NEW DELHI The BJP having pulled out of the government, the party and the PDP contradicted each other on the sequence of events leading up to their bitter separation.
The PDP claimed that the BJPs point person on J&K, Ram Madhav, didnt even speak to outgoing chief minister Mehbooba Mufti before pulling the plug on the coalition.
Ram Madhav called the chief minister this morning but she was away and couldnt take his call. So, no, we had no formal indication that the BJP was pulling out of the government, senior PDP leader Naeem Akhtar said.
Sources in the BJP, however, said Indian home minister Rajnath Singh had called Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday and informed her of his partys decision to break the alliance. Mufti had told Singh that BJP should do as it feels but if the party goes ahead, any political alliance with the BJP would not be possible in the future, said a highly-placed source.
While the PDP says it wasnt formally informed, it, however, admits that it isnt entirely surprised by the BJPs decision.
Akhtar said the signs had been there for about a couple of months, especially when the BJP accused the PDP of not doing enough to crack down on terrorism in the Valley.
So, yes, we were not formally told, but let me add that we are not shocked. The end of an alliance between the North Pole and the South Pole should not shock anyone, he added.
There is no regret. We are leaving on a high. There are no emotions in politics. We will take our own course of action. For now, we are resigning, he said.
The two sides, however, agreed that there had been distrust between them.
Sources in the BJP said there was a growing fear in the party that the PDP was allegedly allowing terrorism to grow in the state. A senior BJP leader said the partys J&K leaders were troubled by the alliance. The cadre was unhappy. The PDP ideology wasnt in tune with that of the BJP, the leader added.
The Centre, the BJP leader said, was briefed about the loss of support within the state not just for the BJP but also for the PDP. People dont trust both parties and it seems impossible to win seats in the Lok Sabha elections. Knowing that the party has no chance, it was better to exit the alliance prematurely and think of ways to save Kashmir, the leader said.
The PDP says that while it too had wanted to exit the coalition government on several occasions, it decided against it as it did not want to be the first to withdraw from the alliance.
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