The Election Interview/Mehbooba Mufti
The vice-president of the People's Democratic Party and member of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, Mehbooba Mufti, merely smiles when asked about the prospects of her becoming the state's first woman chief minister.
In an exclusive interview with Chief Correspondent Onkar Singh at her home in Nowgam in Srinagar, Mehbooba Mufti says the need of the hour is to provide clean administration to the state and remove unemployment.
What is happening on the issue of government formation? Why is there such delay?
I don't think there is any delay in the formation of the government. Government formation naturally takes time, particularly when the people have not given a clear mandate to any party that contested the assembly election.
Muftisaheb (Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, president of the People's Democratic Party and Mehbooba's father) was in Delhi to hold talks with the Congress on the issue because the Congress and PDP must join hands to form a government.Then we have to have support of some smaller parties to get to the magic number of 44 (a simple majority in the 87-member assembly).
Do you think the new government would be in place before October 17? Else, the state goes in for a spell of governor's rule.
I think the new government would be in place before the deadline of October 17. We have to chalk out a common minimum programme with the Congress and those who would support the two parties in the formation of the government.
How have the talks with Congress president Sonia Gandhi gone?
Muftisaheb and Soniaji talked on the phone. She wanted to talk to me as well but I was not available. It is only after talking to her that he went to Delhi to discuss government formation in detail.
Who are the aspirants for chief ministership in the PDP?
This matter would be decided by the legislature party. We are not short of good chief ministerial candidates. Muftisaheb is, of course, there. Then we have Muzzaffar Baig and Ghulam Hassan Mir. So there is no dearth of talent.
Why not Mehbooba Mufti, the first woman chief minister of the state?
I think the matter is best left to the party (laughs). Then the Congress has its own candidates for the post.
The Congress fought on the plank that the new chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir would be from Jammu.
I do not know on what basis they are saying that because they have not got a tremendous response from the people of Jammu and Kashmir. (State Congress president) Ghulam Nabi Azad has been able to get around 20 seats from Jammu region. He claimed they would get 37 seats. But that did not happen. The issue is not whether the chief minister should be from Jammu or Kashmir. The voters want that those who are at the helm of affairs should deliver the goods.
The people of Jammu and Ladakh feel development in these regions has not taken place because they do not have a chief minister from their regions.
I don't think that is true. If this was applicable then the people of Ganderbal would not have voted against the National Conference. They too felt that despite the fact that Ganderabal has been the chief minister's constituency since 1975 no development has taken place. They feel their problems have not been attended to properly.
More than half-a-dozen ministers in the Farooq Abdullah government came from Jammu. Since they were not able to deliver, the people voted them out. The same applies to Ladakh. No development has taken place in Srinagar either.
Despite the fact that the PDP has fewer numbers in the assembly than the Congress it is staking a claim to the chief ministership.
You must understand it is the PDP which effectively defeated the ruling National Conference in the valley while the Congress defeated the BJP in Jammu. It would be unreasonable to tell the people in the valley that their chief minister would come from Jammu when they have scores of problems to contend with.
Here, the stakes are high, there are different voices. Some are fighting for autonomy and some for independence, while some others have different goals altogether. Under these circumstances it would be a big folly to think about a chief minister who does not come from the valley.
Mr Azad has suggested that while one party gets the chief ministership, the other party can get the deputy chief ministership. Is that workable?
Of course, this is a workable proposition. I am sure when the leaders of the two parties sit down and discuss matters threadbare then they would be able to sort these things out.
How hard did you work to ensure success for the PDP?
I worked hard. But more than me, the party workers worked hard to garner support for PDP candidates. They braved the threats to mobilise support for party candidates. All of us including our grassroot workers worked very, very hard. This kind of success for a three-year-old party would not have been possible without the hard work of party workers.
Will you set up a commission of inquiry to go into charges of corruption against Dr Farooq Abdullah's administration?
Of course, we would set up a commission of inquiry. They plundered the wealth of the state. We would appoint the commission after consulting the chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir high court.
Photograph: Tariq Mir; Design: Dominic Xavier
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