Ended coalition with PDP in J-K in national interest: Ram Madhav to India Today

Speaking exclusively to India Today a day after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pulled out of its alliance with PDP (People’s Democratic Party) in Jammu and Kashmir, BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav said, “We gave up our state government for larger national interest.”

Madhav added that pulling out of the coalition was the demand of the time. “We tried for two years but it was no longer tenable.”

BJP listed a range of reasons — from upsurge in violence in the Valley to the state government “failing in its responsibilities”– for ending the coalition.

The BJP said it had become “untenable” for it to continue the coalition government and announced its decision to quit the alliance at a press conference yesterday afternoon. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti had to step down as chief minister of the state soon after.