‘They have broken trust’
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 13: J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president Tariq Hameed Karra today said the National Conference’s “backtracking” on its commitments could indicate that the party is reconsidering its position in the INDIA bloc.
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He was speaking to reporters here about the NC’s refusal to offer the seat demanded by Congress, despite prior assurances to the party leadership in Delhi.
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“The backtracking by the NC suggests that it is already deciding whether to stay in the INDIA bloc. It shows that the party may be contemplating its future in the alliance,” he said.
Karra stressed that the Congress leadership had been led to understand it would be given a safe seat, especially among the first two options, “but we were offered an unsafe one.”
“When they remained adamant, we called a Core Committee meeting and decided that we should not fight an election just to lose,” he added.
He further said that Congress, particularly the core committee members, expected commitments made at the level of Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge to be honored.
“The crux of the Core Committee meeting, including the views of all members, will be communicated to the central leadership, who will then take a decision on the next steps,” he added.
While stopping short of calling it a betrayal, Karra said, “It has, however, dented the trust.”
On communication with the NC, he said the last interaction from Congress was with CM Omar Abdullah through MP Syed Naseer Hussain, following which a joint letter was written by the Congress party’s J&K leadership.
“We wrote to Omar, and the reply directed us to Dr Farooq. Their response clearly indicated that discussions were limited to the fourth seat and no other matters,” he said.
On the future of the alliance, and whether Congress would reach out to other parties, Karra said: “We do not need to reach out to any other political group.”
“Congress has its own weight – 700 MLAs and 100 members – and its integrity and sacrifices cannot be measured merely by numbers in J&K. Strength should also be measured by our presence in Parliament.”
Regarding the upcoming by-elections in Budgam and Nagrota, he said Congress would soon discuss strategy and the way forward after consulting the Central leadership in Delhi.
Meanwhile, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary G A Mir today said that the party leadership in Delhi had been assured of a “safe” seat in Jammu and Kashmir for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
However, he claimed there was “no communication” from the ruling National Conference (NC) regarding the discussion of modalities.
“It was conveyed from the highest level in Delhi that a safe seat would be given. When it came to discussing the modalities, the NC did not ensure any communication and instead conveyed that Congress could field a candidate on the fourth seat,” Mir told reporters in Anantnag.
Mir emphasized the need for broader coalition discussions, saying, “There was no communication when the Council of Ministers was formed. We stated that it is important to resolve issues of the people through broad discussion within the coalition.”
He said that the NC should have consulted like-minded parties and alliance partners before finalizing candidates.
“In the past year as well, there has been no deliberation on major issues, no meetings, and no coordination within the coalition. The NC should have taken alliance partners on board while deciding on candidates,” he said.
Mir added that the Chief Minister bore responsibility for ensuring coordination and communication among alliance partners. “He could have taken a call and built confidence-maybe the issue would not have arisen,” he said.
He also asserted that the BJP has no support from non-BJP members, stressing: “Sixty members in the Assembly are non-BJP, and not even a single one will vote with the BJP. The BJP should secure their side first.”
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