India's BJP pulls out of ruling alliance in disputed Kashmir

Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh speaks next to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufty (L) during a press conference in Srinagar on June 7, 2018. (AFP)

NEW DELHI: India's governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) quit the ruling coalition in Jammu and Kashmir state on Tuesday where militant violence has worsened in recent months, the party announced.
The Hindu nationalist BJP entered into an unlikely alliance with a regional party after an inconclusive election in 2014 to govern the state where Indian forces have struggled to quell an armed revolt for decades.
"It has become untenable for the BJP to continue in the alliance government in Jammu and Kashmir," Ram Madhav, party general secretary, told reporters.