Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday thanked “the political leadership” for its support in the Kathua rape and murder case. Her comments came after two Bharatiya Janata Party ministers resigned from the Cabinet for participating in a rally in support of those arrested in the case.

“The country’s political leadership, the judiciary, the media and the civil society’s unflinching resolve for ensuring justice in this heinous crime would go a long way in restoring people’s confidence in the institutions and reinforcing the sense of justice in J&K,” said Mufti, according to The Hindu.

PDP leader and state minister Naeem Akhtar said the party appreciated the “support and solidarity” that people have shown for the eight-year-old Kathua girl. He said the two BJP ministers’ resignation was a confidence-building measure that will strengthen the alliance between PDP and the saffron party. “The way the people of this country adopted [the girl], the way they raised their voice, the way they helped us uphold the credibility of the investigation… The party will fail in its duty if we don’t express our gratitude,” he said, according to The Indian Express. “The prime minister, home minister, Ram Madhavji [BJP’s national general secretary] and [BJP President] Amit Shahji played a role and sought the resignation of two BJP ministers, about whom it came in the media that they didn’t play a positive role… If the PDP and BJP continue to solve their problems in a similar way, there would be no substitute to this alliance.”

Mufti, however, warned that the Valley was headed for “chaos” if steps were not taken to address the anger and discontent among the people, reported The Indian Express. “The youth here have given enough indication of their anger and discontent over the past several years, even while they gave a chance for democracy to play itself out,” she said. “But unfortunately, signals were ignored, with the country’s political leadership having either run out of ideas or having reached a dead end. The democratic polity of India must respond to this challenge before the political and humanitarian crisis in Kashmir degenerates into bigger chaos.”

This comes a day after Jammu and Kashmir minister Tassaduq Mufti said the PDP has become a “partner in crime” with the BJP. He had even threatened that the PDP may have to “take one last bow” if the BJP-led central government does not act on its commitments to the state. “If coalition politics is about living with a series of failures and ignominies, then I am sorry I don’t know how to hide my awkwardness and discomfort with it,” the tourism minister, who is also the chief minister’s brother, had said.