PDP threatens to move court against NC; seeks apology

Srinagar, July 9 (UNI) The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a ruling coalition partner in Jammu and Kashmir, today threatened to move court if the main opposition National Conference (NC) did not apologise for dragging the name of a senior minister from the party in yesterday's Kulgam blast.

In a statement, a PDP spokesman termed ''highly irresponsible and derogatory'' the remarks by some NC leaders against a senior minister from the party.

''It is a vain attempt to drag the name of senior PDP Minister in the blast at Kulgam yesterday. Such a reckless statement by NC leaders reflect the frustration and political bankruptcy that has overtaken the party's rank and file due to events that have unfolded in the state during the past few months,'' he added.

Bereft of any agenda, he said the NC leaders were now resorting to most contemptible means by trying to exhibit their presence on the state's political scene which offers a bleak future to them.

The spokesman said the fast-changing political and administrative scenario which emerged in the state after the October 2002 Assembly elections has choked the political space for the NC as its archaic exploitative slogans have no takers among the masses now.

The amount of development that has taken place in the state since the coalition government took over was unprecedented and the people in every nook and corner acknowledge this fact, he added.

The spokesman said while carrying forward its development agenda, the PDP has maintained a consistent stand on its political agenda stressing the need for a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue.

The PDP's policies have set new standards for political parties in the state, choking the space for the exploitative politics, he added. The NC has thrived on the exploitative politics for the past 50 years and its leaders now see a bleak future for themselves in the new scenario, the spokesman said.

''Unnerved by the fact that its base is fast eroding across the state and the PDP has emerged as a formidable political force, the NC leaders were resorting to mud-slinging for their survival.'' Describing as highly condemnable the ''NC's tantrum'' of playing politics with a tragic incident, the spokesman said two close relatives of Agriculture Minister Abdul Aziz Zargar were among the victims of the blast.

While his two relatives -- Mohammad Yousuf Ahangar and Ali Mohammad Zargar -- got killed, two others -- Abdul Gani Zargar and Mohammad Rafiq Zargar -- were wounded in the blast.

The spokesman demanded an apology from the NC leaders for the statement against the PDP minister or threatened to move court against them. ''Otherwise, the PDP will file a defamation suit against them,'' he added.

NC Joint Secretary Sheikh Ghulam Ahmed Saloora, in a statement here yesterday, alleged that a PDP Minister was behind the attack on its party legislator, Sakina Ittoo, and demanded a probe to identify those responsible for the blast.

''The PDP Minister visited Kulgam a day before the attack. It appears that he had gone there to finalise the conspiracy of murderous attack on Sakina (Ittoo),'' he said apparently referring to the Agriculture Minister who had visited Kulgam on Friday.

He alleged that Mr Zargar had engineered eight murderous attacks on Ms Ittoo in the past and urged Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to order a probe into the incident to ''identify the anti-peace Cabinet colleague''.

UNI AG YA KN1641