Jammu, Apr 1: Patron of the main opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) in Jammu and Kashmir Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said here Sunday that the National Conference (NC)-Congress coalition government in the state had joined hands to "enjoy power".
Addressing a public meeting in R.S. Pura, 35 km from Jammu, the former chief minister said: "It is a historical fact that whenever the National Conference and the Congress have entered into a political alliance for enjoying power, the state of Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed chaos, confusion, anarchy and instability."
He added: "What is happening after the formation of the NC-Congress government in 2008 is visible to all of us. During the last four years, corruption has crossed all limits and the government, through its deceitful tactics, has brazenly eroded the sanctity and credibility of all democratic institutions."
"From the day when this government was formed, there has been instability and uncertainty in the state," Mufti said.
"Although corruption has sneaked into the government from top to bottom, anti-graft institutions like State Accountability Commission have been deliberately made non-functional by the state government," he added.
He said the previous PDP-led government had involved people in governance. "Before 2002, people had no faith in the democracy or democratic institutions. It was only after the 2002 assembly elections that people's faith in such institutions was restored", he said.
The PDP, in alliance with the Congress, ruled the state from 2002 to 2008 on a rotational basis. Sayeed was chief minister from 2002 to 2005, while Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Congress was chief minister from 2005 to 2008.
