New Delhi: The BJP and PDP had already ironed out their differences over Article 370 and the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. Sources said both the parties had drawn up the list of leaders who will join the government and their respective portfolios. The Common Minimum Programme of the PDP-BJP government is expected to be released after Mr Sayeed meets the Prime Minister.

Countering senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s “red rags” remarks made Wednesday over the BJP’s performance in the J&K Assembly elections, finance minister Arun Jaitley said Mr Azad had shown disrespect to the wisdom of the people when he termed the BJP as “red-rag” for sweeping Jammu.

He also cited how during the Atal Behari Vajpayee government, which had “transparency” and was honest, the Hurriyat, with whom the BJP has had the greatest political differences, was all set to hold talks sitting at the same table, while they never did with the UPA, that was in power twice after the NDA government.

“Your definition of red rag changes,” he told the Congress leader while participating in a debate on the motion of thanks to the President’s address. He added there was no secret about how in the past the Congress was winning in J&K, while maintaining that the first fair elections were held there in 1977.

He said while in the past few years, the Congress had never got the popular vote in the state, it had the “political flexibility” to be in power and was part of the government with both the PDP and the National Conference as “secondary partner”.