BJP blames Congress for Jammu and Kashmir problems

New Delhi, Feb 26 (IANS) Blaming the Congress for the present situation in Jammu and Kashmir, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Thursday said leaving either BJP or PDP out of power in the state will be leaving either Jammu or the Kashmir valley out of power.

"Today history has inflicted a mandate... PDP is largest (party) in valley, BJP is largest (party) in Jammu. Either one of the regions is kept out of power altogether, or this is a historic opportunity to bring about a larger national reconciliation in Jammu and Kashmir which will be in larger interest of this country," Jaitley said.

"...50 years of what you did in Kashmir is the root cause of the problem in the state today. Therefore I urge you to analyse the state with which you have great attachment, and we all have great attachment. You must ponder over what has happened in last five decades," he said.

The finance minister also said the Congress has no support base in the state and has always tried to get entry into the government by supporting the People's Democratic Party (PDP) or the National Conference (NC), the two major regional parties.

"Being in power without winning is history of Congress in Jammu and Kashmir. You either support PDP or NC. Now you are concerned how can government be formed without you," Jaitley said, targeting Congress and Leader of Opposition in the upper house Ghulam Nabi Azad, a Congress leader from the state, who is also a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.