NC backed PDP to give Mufti Mohammed Sayeed a free hand as CM: Omar Abdullah

NEW DELHI: The unconditional support extended by National Conference to PDP for government formation was intended to allow Mufti Mohammed Sayeed to take "free decisions" as Chief Minister as joining hands with a national party would have left him "constrained", former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said.

Omar, however, ruled out the possibility of his party showing such a gesture again in the event of the state's ruling PDP-BJP alliance breaking up.

Speaking for the first time about the reasons for NC's decision to back PDP to form government, Omar said there were no political motives attached other than that he knew the compulsions of forming a government with a party that had pan-India presence.

"At that time it had nothing to do with anything other than that I had an experience of running an alliance government for six years with a party that was not constrained to keep the interest of Jammu and Kashmir in front and centre all the time."

"The fact is when you are a national party, be it the Congress or the BJP, Jammu and Kashmir is only one part of the constituency that you have to look at and, therefore, you always play out decisions that you take in Jammu and Kashmir and their implications for the rest of the country."
"My offer of support to the PDP was simply to remove this constrataint from the state government that Mufti Sayeed would have to operate wherein he would be free to take decisions in the interest of the state without having to worry about how they would play out politically in the rest of the country," Omar, NC working president, told PTI in an interview.

After the elections threw up a hung Assembly, NC with 15 MLAs had extended unconditional support to PDP which had 28 MLAs in the 87-member House.

Asked if he would again extend a helping hand in the event of a split in PDP-BJP alliance, Omar said," Nothing. We will go back to the people.

"The PDP had one chance to take the support of NC...He turned that down. It was a one-time offer. It won't be repeated. And therefore, if this alliance doesn't work, we will go back and let the people decide again," he said.