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Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said it will take "full advantage" of the perceived rift between the People's Democratic Party and the Congress party on the issue of release of militants in Jammu and Kashmir.
"We will take full advantage of any disagreements within the Jammu and Kashmir government on the issue of the release of militants," party spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told rediff.com.
He claimed that both the PDP and the Congress have given "cogent indications" that they have divergent views on the issue [of release of militants].
While the Mufti appears determined to release the militants against whom the charges are of a prima facie nature and allegedly trumped up, the Congress wants the chief minister to go slow, he claimed.
Political observers said the BJP by raising this issue hopes to consolidate Hindu votes in a communally polarised Gujarat, which goes to polls on December 12.
"Since the Congress is a major partner in the Mufti's government, it has to face the music [if the move to release the militants goes awry]," Naqvi said.
The pre-election understanding between the PDP and the Congress provides for the top job to be rotated between them for three years each.
Since the Mufti has the first turn, Congress sources pointed out that the party leadership did not want it to be perceived as a hardliner on the issue.
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