The Congress party in Jammu and Kashmir is non-committal about its possible support to the proposed People's Democratic Party-National Conference alliance for government formation in the state.
"All this is premature, let NC and PDP start the exercise," Ghulam Ahmad Mir, president of J&K Congress told Greater Kashmir on Sunday.
On Friday, senior PDP leader and former finance minister Syed AltafBukhari said the PDP and NC should come together to form a government in the "larger interests" of Jammu and Kashmir.
"This is the right thing to do (to have the NC-PDP alliance) in the present situation when our identity is under attack," Bukhari had said, when asked about the possibility of the two arch-rivals coming together to form the next government in the state, which is under Governor's rule since June.
Bukhari even went to extent of saying that NC and PDP should meet the Governor and stake claim for government formation.
"He (Governor) can't ignore us because we have the numbers," Bukhari said. "We can also work out the agenda for protection of Article 35A."
In reaction to Bukhari's opinion, senior National Conference leader and MLA Kangan, MianAltaf said that his party "is open to join a joint struggle with PDP on Article 35A and against rise of communal forces."
However, he said such a decision "lies with Omar Abdullah only".
Amid the public expression of statements advocating for a PDP-NC alliance, the Congress party appears sitting on the fence.
"If they agree to form a government, let them come forward," Mir said.
At the same time, he took a dig at PDP saying it refused his party's offer of support in 2014.
"They (PDP) sow the seeds of RSS-BJP in Kashmir," Mir said.
The J&K Congress vice-president, GhulamNabiMonga said that the average voter in Kashmir was "totally disheartened" and suggested that all secular parties must "come together against communal forces."
"The vote of voter was not respected at all," Monga said. "BJP policies made the voter disheartened."
A slew of petitions challenging Article 35A of the Indian constitution have raised tensions in Kashmir, where both mainstream and separatist leaders fear demographic changes if the legislation, which prohibits people from other states buying land property in J&K, is struck down.
The BJP-led government at the Centre has not filed a counter-affidavit against the petitions, unlike the previous governments which had argued against such challenges in the past.
