Meanwhile, Mr Sayeed sought to sidestep his controversial remarks, as his daughter and PDP MP Mehbooba Mufti admitted that there would be teething problems. “The BJP and PDP are North and South Poles, but India is changing…we are coming together,” she said, adding, “He (Mr Sayeed) is a man of peace and he wants to continue what Vajpayeeji had started. All issues can be solved through talks… We need to build more stakes for those who have different ideologies. Look at Sajaad Lone, today he is part of the democratic process.” Another PDP MP Muzaffar Hussain Baig acknowledged that the PDP-BJP coalition had not made a promising beginning with controversy erupting due to statements on both sides.
Mr Sayeed's remarks have put the BJP in a tight spot as the Centre in August 2014 had cancelled talks between foreign secretaries after Pakistan’s High Commissioner Abdul Basit in New Delhi met Hurriyat Conference leaders ahead of a scheduled meeting between foreign secretaries. The BJP has always advocated a strong stand against Pakistan and advocates a no-mercy policy towards terrorists while Mufti's PDP favours a soft approach. Indeed, on Monday, eight PDP MLAs demanded from the NDA government the return of the mortal remains of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. Earlier in the Lok Sabha, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, disassociating the Centre and the BJP from Mr Sayeed's remarks, gave credit for peaceful elections to the Election Commission, the Army, paramilitary forces and the local people. This was after the Congress’s deputy whip K C Venugopal raised the matter, pointing out that Mr Sayeed had said that he had spoken to Mr Modi in this regard, an assertion that Mr Singh said was untrue.
When Leader of Congress in the Lower House Mallikarjun Kharge demanded that Mr Modi make public the contents of his conversation with Mr Sayeed, Mr Singh said he had spoken to the Prime Minister before speaking in the House. When Speaker Sumitra Mahajan tried to stop Mr Kharge from speaking further, an irate Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav told came to his rescue, telling the Chair that the opposition must be allowed to have its say.
The opposition raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha, too, and MoS for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the credit for peaceful conduct of elections in the state “goes to the wonderful people of Jammu and Kashmir, Leh and Kargil, the Election Commission and security forces”.
