PDP MLA to quit Kashmir Assembly over Jammu issues

Jammu, Oct 22 (IANS) Vikramaditya Singh, a PDP MLA and grandson of Jammu and Kashmir’s former ruler Maharaja Hari Singh, on Sunday said he has decided to resign from the Assembly due to differences with his party over Jammu-centric issues.

Singh, whose father is senior Congress leader Karan Singh, announced his decision to leave the Legislative Council, the upper house of the bicameral legislature, to the media here.

He told reporters that he had written an open letter to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti highlighting the issues over which serious differences had arisen between him and the party.

He said the demand of the people of Jammu to declare a state holiday on September 23 to commemorate the birthday of the former Dogra Maharaja Hari Singh, the inclusion of the period of Dogra rule in text books and the issue of Rohingya settlers in Jammu were emotional issues close to the heart of Jammu people.

He told reporters that there was a growing regional divide in the state which can be bridged by addressing the issues highlighted by him.

He said he had written to senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders too asking them to address these issues but there had been no response from them.

"Mehbooba Mufti is the chief of the entire state and not just of one region."