M A I N N E W S
Cong, PDP adamant
Azad is LCP chief, gets support of 8 Ind, Panthers
S.P. Sharma and M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service
Srinagar/Jammu, October 14
The PCC chief, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, was unanimously elected leader of the Legislature Congress Party (LCP) in Srinagar today even as both the Congress and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) stuck to their guns on the issue of chief ministership of the coalition government.
Immediately after his election as CPL leader, Mr Azad left for Raj Bhavan to meet the Governor, Mr G.C. Saxena, and discuss the situation regarding the position of the Congress to form a government. He clarified that his aim was not to stake claim for forming a government.
The Governor had invited the leaders of the NC, Congress and PDP separately to explore the possibility of forming a government before October 17, when the term of the present government ends.
All 20 Congress MLAs supported the candidature of Mr Azad for chief ministership when the AICC leaders, Mr R.K. Dhawan, Mr Ahmed Patel and Mr Satyajit Singh Gaekwad, met them individually to elicit their views on the issue. A Congress spokesman claimed that eight Independents have also supported Mr Azad for the post. Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, vice-president of the PCC, also supported him.
Mr Azad said the Congress wanted that a coalition government should be formed in J & K with the PDP. Further talks on the possibility would be held with the PDP chief, Mufti Sayeed.
The Panthers Party Chairman, Dr Bhim Singh, announced unconditional support to the Congress leader, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, if his name was cleared for heading the coalition government.
He told newsmen in Jammu that his party, which had four members in the House, would support any candidate from the Jammu region for the Chief Minister's post.
The Panthers leader said a Jammuite had never been installed as Chief Minister. In view of the fragmented verdict, a situation had been thrown up for giving the Chief Minister's post to a Jammuite.
He said Ms Mehbooba Mufti's rejection of a Jammuite as Chief Minister was unfortunate.
On the other hand, hectic activity is taking place in the National Conference and PDP camps.
After lying low for four days after the election results came in, Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah's residence was again humming with activity. The NC chief, Mr Omar Abdullah, also met party workers after returning from Raj Bhavan. Two Independent MLAs also visited the CM's residence. The Working Committee of the NC is reported to have decided yesterday that the party should not surrender its claim of forming the government.
Mr Omar Abdullah, who is also a minister at the Centre, left for Delhi in the afternoon, reportedly to submit his resignation from the ministry as he had announced during the third phase of the election after getting annoyed over the criticism of the NC government by certain senior leaders of the BJP, including Mrs Sushma Swaraj.
The Working Committee and the Legislature Party of the PDP also met at the residence of Mr Mufti in Naogam on the outskirts of the town.
Mr Azad, who arrived from Delhi in the afternoon, said it would have been ideal to have a Congress-led coalition government with the PDP and other like-minded people in it. The CPL meeting was held to elicit the opinion of the elected MLAs as the Mufti at his meeting with Mrs Sonia Gandhi had said that the members of the PDP had expressed the desire that only he (Mufti) should head the coalition government.
He said with the national-level character of the Congress, which was enjoying the position of the Opposition party in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, it was capable of rectifying the wrongs that had been done in the state during the 27-year rule of the National Conference.
Mr Azad said he was not in a hurry as three days were still there for forming the new government. He accused the NC of trying to kidnap certain Independent MLAs who had announced their support to the Congress. Four MLAs were taken to the house of an NC minister yesterday by policemen. One MLA, Mr Manohar Lal, was missing, he said.
He said after having been defeated in the Assembly elections, the NC should allow the elected MLAs to discharge their function of choosing the leader and the official machinery should not be misused by Dr Abdullah to manipulate things.
Mr Azad said a group of Congress leaders had identified the common agreeable points in the manifestos of the Congress and PDP after two days of exercise.
Soon after the meeting of the LCP, Haji Nissar, an Independent MLA from Kargil, announced that he would support the Congress.
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