Srinagar: Fissures appear to have widened between the National Conference (NC) and the Congress, raising doubts about the future of their alliance in Jammu and Kashmir.
At the heart of the discord is the resolution on Article 370 passed by the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly last week. The Omar Abdullah-led government introduced the resolution advocating for the restoration of the region’s special status in the first session of the House.
Legislators from the Congress, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Sajad Lone supported the resolution. However, the Congress denied backing the resolution, giving opposition parties ammunition to target the government.
The denial came after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) highlighted the Congress’s support for the resolution during the election campaign in Maharashtra. While the NC feels this U-turn has left the party in an embarrassing situation, it does not see an immediate threat to the alliance.
The coming urban and rural body elections, coupled with public perception, seem to be influencing the coalition’s continuity despite the public fallout.
The Congress, though not a part of the government after rejecting a single cabinet berth despite having seven legislators, continues to extend external support. Within the NC, this is perceived as the Congress’s attempt to distance itself from the government and avoid political risks across the country, particularly at the national level.
“Congress is undecided over its Kashmir policy,” said an NC leader, seeking anonymity. “This confusion led to their worst-ever performance in the J&K Assembly elections. In contrast, the BJP has a clear agenda, and they are reaping the benefits of their policy on Kashmir in elections elsewhere in the county,” he added.
In the last election, Congress suffered a significant setback, securing only seven seats. This marked a decline from the 17 seats it held in Jammu and Kashmir in Assembly Elections in 2008.
Of the seven seats, six were won in the Valley with NC’s support. Congress’s president, Tariq Hameed Karra, was among those who benefited, winning from Central Shalteng where NC did not field a candidate.
Karra, who participated in the Assembly session when the resolution was passed, denied that the resolution was part of the agenda in a pre-session alliance meeting a day before on November 4. He claimed Congress supported the resolution for “statehood” and not for special status.
“The Supreme Court’s verdict upholding the abrogation of Article 370 by Parliament is a fait accompli. We supported the restoration of statehood, which the court also acknowledged,” Karra told ETV Bharat. He added that they could not clarify their position on it in the House due to disruptions and ruckus by the BJP.
Despite Congress’s denial, the resolution was distributed among all 89 legislators as well as the media persons in the gallery before being passed by a majority. Even Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary, who introduced the resolution seconded by Sakina Itoo, read the draft aloud in the House, drawing BJP legislators in the well of the House.
NC’s Kashmir president Showkat Ahmad Mir attributed Congress’s change of stance to electoral pressures in Maharashtra, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah criticised them for supporting the resolution.
“The resolution was clearly about special status. Congress legislators knew what they were supporting. Their U-turn is driven by fear of electoral defeat in Maharashtra,” Mir said.
Tanvir Sadiq, an NC legislator and aide to Omar Abdullah, clarified that the resolution unequivocally addressed the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s pre-2019 special status. “There was only one special status, and it included provisions of land security, job security, and Article 35A,” he added.
Amid this, the NC is grappling with pressure from its political opponents including its primary bete noire PDP in the Valley. Former Chief Minister and PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti sought an answer from the ruling party amid the 'ambiguity' set by Congress’s U-turn about its role in the J&K government.
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