Gupkar Alliance to send representatives to Delhi for Modi meeting

People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti chaired a meeting of the party on Sunday in Srinagar, hours after receiving a formal invitation from Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla for an all-party meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 24.

At the meeting Mufti stressed on collective fight for restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, and Article 370.

“We have stressed for a collective fight and hence People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) will send two representatives for the meeting in New Delhi,” News18 quoted a senior leader who attended the meeting as saying.

“Mehbooba ji has decided not to boycott the meeting. We are for a political process but it’s a collective fight and hence we will all meet to decide who all should represent us in the meeting and convey the aspirations of the people.”

The PDP is likely to ask for restoration of statehood immediately, as a major confidence building measure ahead of the assembly polls.

Also read: J&K set for Assembly polls? Centre calls all-party meet

“A meeting of PDP’s political affairs committee was held today [ahead of all-party meet of all J&K parties, in Delhi]. All members have decided that the final decision regarding this will be taken by Mehbooba Mufti, all members have authorised her: A meeting of People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration will be held in two days. This matter will be discussed there too,” PDP spokesperson Suhail Bukhari said after the meeting.

Meanwhile, NDTV quoted sources as saying that the meeting in New Delhi is about the delimitation exercise, “nothing about statehood at all”.

The meeting is an attempt by the Centre to seek political validation of the administrative exercise, which started in the first week of June, they said.