With reference to "Mehbooba keeps everybody guessing" (January 24), what needs to be condemned is the hypocrisy and the label of "secular party" flaunted by the political parties which form unprincipled and opportunistic alliances to grab power on the pretext of forming a "secular government" to keep "communal forces" (read Bharatiya Janata Party) away. Are the BJP governments voted to power at the Centre and in many states "communal governments"?
People vote for a government. However, due to various factors weighing on the voter's mind, often the mandate is not decisively in favour of a single party but fractured, which makes a coalition government necessary. Jammu and Kashmir is a case in point. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has won all its 28 seats from the Valley, and the BJP all its 25 seats from Jammu. The PDP-BJP alliance is the natural option to respect people's mandate and provide a representative and stable government. A PDP-Congress or a PDP-National Conference alliance would still need the support of Independents and small parties to form government, which will not be truly representative of both the regions and their fate. If the development of the state is the priority for Mehbooba Mufti, a stable government is the primary requirement which can be met only by a PDP-BJP alliance. Also, what is the surety that a repoll will not deliver a fractured mandate yet again?
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People vote for a government. However, due to various factors weighing on the voter's mind, often the mandate is not decisively in favour of a single party but fractured, which makes a coalition government necessary. Jammu and Kashmir is a case in point. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has won all its 28 seats from the Valley, and the BJP all its 25 seats from Jammu. The PDP-BJP alliance is the natural option to respect people's mandate and provide a representative and stable government. A PDP-Congress or a PDP-National Conference alliance would still need the support of Independents and small parties to form government, which will not be truly representative of both the regions and their fate. If the development of the state is the priority for Mehbooba Mufti, a stable government is the primary requirement which can be met only by a PDP-BJP alliance. Also, what is the surety that a repoll will not deliver a fractured mandate yet again?
M C Joshi Lucknow
Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:
The Editor, Business Standard
Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002
Fax: (011) 23720201
E-mail: letters@bsmail.in
All letters must have a postal address and telephone number