E-Paper
Mehbooba skips INDIA bloc meeting in New Delhi
A Peoples Democratic Party leader said Mehbooba Mufti did not attend the INDIA alliance meeting due to personal obligations
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti skipped the meeting of the INDIA bloc held at the house of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi on Saturday.
Along with the National Conference (NC), the PDP is part of the INDIA bloc in J&K and both were invited to the meeting. People familiar with the matter said Mehbooba couldn’t attend the meeting as she was busy with her mother due to some illness. “Our president didn’t attend the meeting due to personal obligations,” said a senior PDP leader. However, NC president Farooq Abdullah attended the meeting after he left for New Delhi from Srinagar on Saturday morning.
The PDP president had attended several meetings of the alliance in the past. However, in the Lok Sabha polls, the INDIA bloc leaders endorsed NC’s candidates instead of the PDP, which contested from three Lok Sabha seats of Kashmir.
Even Congress leaders campaigned against former J&K chief minister Mehbooba who contested from Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat and was locked in a triangular contest with the NC and Apni Party candidates. Despite Congress leaders campaigning against the PDP president, she didn’t break away from the alliance and termed it the need of the country against communal forces.
