Madni quits as PDP vice-prez
Disgruntled MLA Noorabad says it’s ‘too little too late’
All office bearers tendered resignation, it has nothing to do with issue of disgruntled leaders: PDP
Srinagar, Jul 23: Mohammad Sartaj Madni, an uncle of former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, resigned as the vice-president of the Peoples Democratic Party today.
The resignation comes three weeks after several PDP MLAs, including senior leader Imran Raza Ansari and his uncle Abdi Ansari, had accused Mufti of nepotism and questioned her decision to surround herself with her relatives and friends in the party.
“I have submitted my resignation to Mehbooba Mufti (PDP president),” Madni was quoted as saying by different news agencies.
The PDP leader said he has resigned from the post in the “larger interests” of the party, including its stability and unity.
While Madni refused to answer any questions, his resignation is believed to be part of efforts within the PDP to bring back the disgruntled legislators.
Meanwhile, PDP on Monday said that all the office bearers of the party have tendered their resignation before the party president.
Talking to Kashmir News Service (KNS), PDP chief spokesman Rafi Mir said that all the office bearers including Vice President, General Secretary and Treasurers have submitted their resignation before party president Mehbooba Mufti, saying that submitting resignation is aimed to revamp the party.
He said that tendering resignation has nothing to do with the issue of party’s disgruntled leaders. “As the capable party leaders are no more ministers now, so the decision of tendering resignation was only taken to revamp the party,” he said.
The seven rebel legislators, including two MLCs, had come out in the open against Mufti after the PDP-BJP coalition government in the state fell, following the withdrawal of support by the saffron party.
Reacting to the development, one of the disgruntled leaders and MLA Noorabad, Abdul Majeed Paddar said it was “mere drama”.
A local news agency quoted the MLA Noorabad as saying that “taking such steps after damaging the party’s unity won’t emerge as a damage control exercise”.
“The situation could have been different in case the party president had taken such decision herself prior to the damage caused to party’s unity,” he said, adding that resignation of Madni is “mere drama” and won’t help in undoing the damage.
The PDP’s disgruntled leader also said that such dramas won’t deter them. “Such decision should have been come from party president and that too much earlier. Now, these steps will not work,” he said.
Asked about his recent claims about the support of 51 MLAs, Paddar said, “You have to wait a bit more. We will come up 55 MLAs not only 51 to form the government.”
Kashmir Images is an English language daily newspaper published from Srinagar (J&K), India. The newspaper is one of the largest circulated English dailies of Kashmir and its hard copies reach every nook and corner of Kashmir Valley besides Jammu and Ladakh region.
