The Bharatiya Janata Party had its way, securing an invitation for itself from Home Minister P. Chidambaram to be part of an all-party delegation from Jammu and Kashmir that met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on Tuesday.
On Monday, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj told journalists that two BJP leaders — leader of its Legislature Party Chamanlal Gupta, and party Jammu and Kashmir unit president Shamsher Singh — would be part of the all-party delegation meeting Dr. Singh.
However, by Tuesday morning, the BJP changed its mind as it did not want to be part of a group led by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Ms. Swaraj told journalists: “We have a different point of view on Kashmir.” The word went out that the BJP will not participate in the meeting.
The former Chief Minister and Union Minister Farooq Abdullah then met Ms. Swaraj and BJP leader L.K. Advani in Parliament House, where he was told that the BJP would accept an invitation from the Prime Minister or the Home Minister, but not from Mr. Omar Abdullah.
Mr. Chidambaram obliged by extending the invitation to Ms. Swaraj, following which BJP representatives from Kashmir were asked to fly to New Delhi to meet Dr. Singh.
The BJP participated in the all-party meeting, but made the political point — it was not led by Mr. Omar Abdullah but had come on the Central government's invitation.
