Azad summons CLP meeting, calls on J

Srinagar, Mar 27 (UNI) In a surprise move, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has summoned an emergency meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) members in the winter capital this evening after calling on Governor Lt Gen (retd) S K Sinha in the morning, well-placed sources said.

They said Mr Azad suddenly decided to summon the CLP meeting today, a day after PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed met Congress President Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi.

However, Congress sources sought to downplay the meeting, also to be attended by top party functionaries.

They said Mr Azad has called the CLP meeting only to interact with his party legislators and other senior members and discuss the political situation in the state.

The sources said Mr Azad has also invited senior PDP leaders and legislators to the ''tea'' meeting on Ram Navami, but apparently they have declined.

However, a PDP leader refuted the claim, saying they were not invited for the meeting.

Earlier, Mr Azad called on the state Governor at Raj Bhavan in Jammu this morning.

The meeting assumes significance in view of the hectic political developments in the state in the recent past.

However, Raj Bhavan sources said Mr Azad visited Raj Bhavan to greet Gen Sinha on Ram Navami.

In his 20-minute meeting with Ms Gandhi last night, Mr Sayeed highlighted the problems between his party and the Ghulam Nabi Azad government over some important issues.

The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister raised the issues of coordination between the Congress and the PDP and also discussed his party's demands for troop reduction, revocation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) and vacation of agricultural and orchard land besides private and government buildings by security forces in the state.

''There are some problems with the coordination in smooth running of the coalition government and Ms Gandhi has assured us that these will be sorted out soon,'' Mr Sayeed told reporters after his meeting with the Congress President.

Mr Azad has been vociferously opposing any move to reduce troops in Jammu and Kashmir, saying ''any complacency would jeopardise peace in the region.

''Demilitarisation in Jammu and Kashmir is impossible till the situation improves...It won't happen,'' he said.

The PDP, a key partner in the ruling alliance in Jammu and Kashmir, had threatened to pull out of the Congress-led coalition government if its demands were not met.

UNI