Mehbooba Mufti resigns as J&K Chief Minister

Jammu and Kashmir, June 19: In a surprising political development, the BJP this afternoon pulled out of its alliance with the PDP or People's Democratic Party in Jammu and Kashmir.

After the BJP pulled out of the coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir, a surprised Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday submitted her resignation to Governor N.N. Vohra.

Immediately after she learned about the Bharatiya Janata Party's decision, Mehbooba Mufti rushed to Raj Bhawan.

Later she called an emergency meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In a surprise development, after summoning all its Ministers in the state government to New Delhi, the BJP announced that it had decided to exit from the PDP-BJP coalition.

The BJP had 25 lawmakers and the PDP had 28 in the state assembly, where the majority mark is 45. The decision to withdraw support came after BJP president Amit Shah met with the party's lawmakers from Jammu and Kashmir in Delhi. The rift between the two parties widened following the central government's decision to resume anti-terror operations in the state after Ramzan.

BJP leader Ram Madhav said the continuation of the BJP in the government had become untenable. "We have, therefore, decided to pull out of the ruling coalition."

He said the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir had worsened to such a level that keeping the integrity of the county in mind the decision was taken to end the alliance.