Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to inform him about the earthquake relief and rehabilitation work going on in the state. He, however, refused to answer questions regarding transfer of power in the state.
Mufti had called on Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Sunday evening and offered to step down before November 2, unless he is given a go-ahead for at least six months.
"I am not answering any questions regarding transfer of power. Whatever we had to say, we said it on Sunday after our meeting with Mrs Gandhi," he said as he left 7 Race Course road, where he had a half-hour meeting with Dr Singh.
"I told Dr Singh that we should be able to provide tin roofs to the victims and wood for construction of houses. Everyone should have temporary shelter before the snow begins in November," Mufti said.
He added that India has decided to open three medical relief camps to cater to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir residents since some of those places are more accessible from the Indian side.
"We need to have better roads in some of the areas, though," Mufti said. He also praised the work done by non-governmental organisations in providing relief to the earthquake victims.
Mehbooba Mufti, president of the People's Democratic Party, who accompanied her father to see Sonia, stayed away from the meeting with Dr Singh.
Sonia has asked the Congress members of the J&K Legislative Assembly to come down to Delhi for consultations. Congress ministers and MLAs are expected to reach the capital by Monday evening.
"The Congress president is going to hold a series of discussions with J&K Congress leaders and find out their response on whether or not to give Mufti time or have a Congress chief minister in place on November 2. These discussions are likely to continue on Tuesday as well," a senior Congress leader told rediff.com.
Sonia has called Ghulam Nabi Azad, Saifuddin Soz and other senior leaders for consultations at her residence on Monday afternoon.
The meeting would be attended by Ambika Soni, Ahmed Patel and Pranab Mukherjee.
