Congress too trampled J&K’s special status: Rana

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 26: National Conference Provincial President Devender Singh Rana today lashed out at Congress for working against the interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, saying history is replete of instances when it (Congress) trampled democracy and undermined the democratic institutions in the State.
“The BJP is a new entry in Jammu and Kashmir to subvert and fiddle with the special and distinct identity and status of the State but the Congress has mastered in anti-people machinations for the past seven decades”, Rana told reporters in an informal interaction here this afternoon.
When asked why the Congress did not join the mainstream parties in boycotting the ongoing elections to Panchayat and Urban Local Bodies, Rana said this can better be answered by the Congress leaders but given the history of the party, the people are not surprised, he said the Congress has always ditched and betrayed the people of the State.
Rana said the National Conference has stayed away from the ongoing democratic process in the larger interest of the people, as overt and covert attempts are being made to fiddle with Article 35A which relates to the dignity and rights of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions. He said the Congress too understands the imminent threat to this constitutional provison but it has preferred to offer just lip service.
“Political opportunism has prevailed over the larger public interest”, Rana said, adding that lust for power seems to have been the deciding factor for the Congress to join the electoral fray. He described the Congress and the BJP two sides of the same coin as far as trampling democratic and constitutional rights of the people of the State. He said the Congress has exposed itself for being political opportunists. He said the Congress cannot escape the blame of thwarting democratic process in Jammu and Kashmir to satiate its myopic political interests. He blamed the party for working against the urges of the people of the State.
On the prospect of any future alliance with the Congress, Rana said he is a small worker of the National Conference and it is not in his domain to say anything about it. He said in such policy matters, it is the leadership that takes decision.