Nirmal Singh urges JK Govt. to follow Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s guidelines

Government decides to accord state funeral to the departed leader in Jammu and Kashmir: MHACentral Government mourns death of JK CM Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.

His body would be flown to Srinagar where it will be kept for people to pay their last homage to their leader.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh: He was known for his love for common people, especially the underprivileged. However, he quit the Congress and with his daughter Mehbooba Mufti launched his own party PDP in July 1999.

PDP is now headed by his daughter Mehbooba Mufti, who is tipped to become the next chief minister of India-held Kashmir after Mufti Sayeed’s death. He was also the Home Minister of India from December 1989 to November 1990.

However, Mehbooba’s ascent to the post of the Chief Minister would require approval of BJP, the junior coalition partner in the state government.

Jammu and Kashmir government has declared a seven-day mourning and holiday in Delhi Thursday.

Sayeed, 79, is survived by his wife, three daughters including PDP President Mehbooba Mufti, and a son. He was also designated president of Pradesh Congress and the leader of Congress legislature party.

Sayeed was the third chief minister of the state to die in office – after G.M. Sadiq (1971) and Sheikh Abdullah (1982). In 1998, he contested the Lok Sabha elections from Anantnag on a Congress ticket and won. Some remember him as a Chief Minister who governed well between 2002-2005, some remember him as a leader who made a gross miscalculation in the end by joining hands with the BJP. Mufti Sahab provided a healing touch to Jammu and Kashmir through his leadership.

Sayeed was put on ventilator support as he was having breathing problems because of infection in the lungs. He had to face huge criticism for aligning with BJP – a rightwing party – to form the government in Muslim-majority J&K.

His campaign for introducing confidence building measures to remove distrust between people living in India and Pakistan had led to the opening of cross LoC Uri-Muzaffrabad and Poonch-Rawalakote roads for trade and travel between people of Jammu Kashmir and Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

Sayeed’s PDP controversially went into coalition in the restive Himalayan region with Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party after state elections past year.