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Onkar Singh in Srinagar
People's Democratic Party chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is flying to Delhi to hold talks with his Congress counterpart Sonia Gandhi on the formation a new government in Jammu and Kashmir.
Talking to rediff.com, the Mufti's daughter and PDP vice-president Mehbooba Mufti said the venue of the talks was shifted to Delhi after a telephonic conversation between her father and the Congress president.
Earlier, the talks were scheduled to be held in Srinagar and former Union finance minister Manmohan Singh was to head the Congress delegation.
"My father is flying down to Delhi later in the afternoon and he would meet the Congress president Sonia Gandhi to discuss the government formation," Mehbooba said.
Asked what prompted the change of the venue, she said there was some confusion about where the talks would take place right from the beginning.
"Soniaji called my father twice in the last two days and then it was decided that he would fly down to Delhi to talk to her," she said.
Asked what was keeping the Congress and the PDP from announcing their alliance, Mehbooba said: "We have to sort out a few things. The issue of chief ministership is one of them. Then we have to have a common minimum programme. Besides we have to get support of independent MLAs," she said.
Asked if the two parties would manage to put a government in place before the October 17 deadline, Mehbooba said: "I expect the new government to assume office before October 17."
The news about a Congress team flying down to Srinagar for talks had caused much confusion in media and political circles.
The police too was taken by surprise when the news was flashed by local TV channels.
Director General of Police A K Suri rang up some of his junior officers to find out if there was any intimation from the Delhi police about any VVIP movement.
"I am foxed. According to our information [the] Mufti is going to Delhi," Suri told rediff.com.
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