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Onkar Singh in New Delhi
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has convened a meeting of party leaders in New Delhi on Tuesday to discuss the issue of government formation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Proposals discussed during talks between Congress leader Manmohan Singh and People's Democratic Party chief Mufti Mohammed Sayeed in Srinagar will be discussed in the meeting.
Gandhi convened the meeting after Singh briefed her on his two-day visit to Srinagar.
Asked if a decision on forming an alliance with the PDP would be taken in the meeting, Singh said, "hopefully."
He parried questions on whether the Congress was sticking to its demand for chief ministership. "All these issues will be taken up for discussions tomorrow."
"We made certain suggestions. Mufti saheb made some counter suggestions. These will be taken up tomorrow," he said.
J&K Pradesh Congress Committee president Ghulam Nabi Azad and party leader Ambika Soni were present during the discussions with Gandhi.
Meanwhile, PDP leader Muzzafar Hussain Beg told rediff.com on phone from Srinagar that he was hopeful that a coalition government would be formed soon.
"You know with the Congress leaders shuttling between Delhi and Srinagar the process of negotiation is going to take time," he said.
He said another factor that could delay the formation of the new government was the movement of the entire government machinery from Srinagar to Jammu by the end of October.
Beg, however, refused to say if the two sides had agreed to have a chief minister by rotation.
Sources within the PDP indicated that some of the party legislators were getting restless and angry due to the delay in government formation.
They were under the impression that some party leaders were putting their ambitions ahead of the interests of the people.
"Today, the party is intact, but if things continue the way they are going nothing can be said what might happen tomorrow," said a leader of the party.
Asked if the party could break, he said, "I said nothing of that sort. You are free to draw your own conclusion."
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