Tarigami meets Sonia Gandhi

New Delhi, Mar 30 (UNI) As part of consultations to ''iron out'' differences among Jammu and Kashmir coalition partners, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today met state CPI leader Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami and discussed the functioning of the government.

Sources told UNI that during the half-an-hour meeting at Ms Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence, Mr Tarigami, head of the PDF legislature party a group of independent MLAs supporting the coalition, reiterated the demand of creation of peace zones to ''deal with the situation in the state''.

''As in his November 2004 meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr Tarigami stressed on the need of creating peace zones and his four-pronged strategy to deal with the situation in Jammu and Kashmir,'' the sources added.

Mr Tarigami had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on March 12 here to sort out the irritants in the ties between the allies--PDP and the Congress.

Yesterday, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who has strongly opposed the PDP's demand of troop withdrawal and repeal of AFSP Act, held a series of meeting with Dr Singh, Ms Gandhi and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and discussed the ''impact'' of troop reduction in the strife-torn state.

Emerging from the meeting, Mr Azad said he was not against movement of troops from within the state or in the country.

''National security is important. Adjustment from one part of the state to other is no problem,'' he added.

PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who is camping in the national Capital since March 20, has already held discussion with the Prime Minister twice on the issue besides holding consultations with Ms Gandhi and National Security Advisor M K Narayanan.

On March 28, immedialtely after the Congress core group consultation on troop withdrawal in Jammu and Kashmir, the Prime Minister called up Mr Sayeed, urging him to further extend his stay in Delhi for two more days so as to explore various other alternatives.

This prompted the PDP, which was to hold its political affairs meeting on March 29 crucial issue of continuing in the coalition, to postpone it.

The meeting at the Prime Minister's 7 Race Course residence was attended, among others by Ms Gandhi, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Defence Minister A K Antony besides political secretary to Congress president Ahmed Patel.

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