Jammu, June 28 -- The political confrontation between the ruling National Conference (NC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over alleged backdoor appointments intensified on Sunday, with the Omar Abdullah government mounting a strong defence of its recruitment policy and rejecting the opposition's allegations as "baseless and misleading."
Two days after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced that his ministers would respond to the allegations levelled by PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and her daughter, Iltija Mufti, two cabinet ministers and the Chief Minister's advisor addressed a joint press conference, asserting that all appointments made by the present government have been carried out strictly on merit through transparent...