Jammu,
The PDP-BJP coalition appears to be on a collision course as serious differences have cropped up between them over issues such as enhancing the incentives to surrendered militants andimplementing the “controversial” minutes of the Tribal Affairs Department meeting.

After blocking the PDP move to get the Cabinet’s nod for more incentives to the surrendered militants, the state unit of the BJP has cautioned its central leadership against “profusely rewarding terrorists after their surrender” as that could have “dangerous consequences” for the Jammu region.

“Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is repeatedly quoting Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to defend her surrender policy, aimed at rewarding those who have picked up arms against the nation,” said a BJP minister, who did not wish to be identified.

“We have clearly told our central leadership that incentives proposed by the PDP leadership for surrendered militants were not less than rewarding them,” he added.

Sources said the debate on the proposed surrender policy of the PDP was going on for the last two months and the saffron party was opposing it tooth and nail. “As the state unit is opposing this policy, the PDP leadership has bypassed the local BJP leadership and approached the central leadership to get its approval,” a source said, adding that after the Centre’s green signal, the PDP had brought up the policy during the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

“After Tuesday’s Cabinet, we cautioned our central leadership that approving the surrender policy in the present form would not be tolerated by the peace-loving people of J&K because it amounted to more or less rewarding those who had picked up arms to wage a war against the country,” the BJP minister said.

Besides the surrender policy, the PDP and BJP are also not on the same page on the issues of appointing Additional Deputy Commissioners (ADCs), compensation to farmers in Jammu for constructing Ring Road, “torturing” locals in the name of investigation into the Kathua rape-murder case and extending the Forest Rights Act in J&K.