Srinagar: They contested as allies but Congress and the National Conference now seem poles apart after the swearing-in of Omar Abdullah-led government in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory in October last year.
While the present J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Tariq Hameed Karra obliquely censures the UT government for being unable to address issues of people, its former president Vikar Rasool calls it the "most failed government" in Jammu and Kashmir's history.
Though Karra has been guarded in his criticism of the NC-led government by pitching for restoration of statehood, critics say the Congress leader is directing the arrow at the centre but hitting the spire of the Omar Abdullah-led government.
Referring to the absence of business rules and delay in statehood restoration, Karra in his recent statement at the PCC office in Srinagar said cynicism has crept in among the people and they are losing trust in democratically elected government. "As an alliance partner of NC, I will request it to play a proactive role in addressing grievances and run local administration effectively," he said.
Karra said that the absence of business rules has created confusion among officers about whether they are accountable to the elected government or the L-G administration. "In this milieu of confusion, people are the casualty as they are losing faith in the democratic system. People hoped their vote would help them in redressal of their grievances but nothing is happening, and people feel their vote was a waste," he said.
Vikar Rasool, the former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president, and Congress Working Committee member, called the Omar-led government the “most failed government in Jammu and Kashmir's history”.
When the elected government completed its 100 days, Vikar launched a scathing attack on the chief minister and his cabinet. “People of Jammu and Kashmir gave a strong mandate to NC and expected their issues will be resolved. Instead, people are unhappy, facing mounting issues; the electricity situation is not improving; there is no relief to them from increasing power bills; daily-wagers are not getting any signs of regularization,” he said, adding that except for changing academic session, the Omar government has been unable to do anything.
“Omar Abdullah knew that without statehood he wouldn't be able to change his peon. When he knew it, why did he contest and become a CM of a UT? NC is now blaming the dual control saying the Lieutenant Governor is hampering their work. In this fight of accusations, people are suffering,” he said.
When contacted by ETV Bharat for his comment on his scathing attack, Vikar refused to talk. Although the leaders of the National Conference and Congress downplay any discord between the two, political analysts argue that this alliance is "non-existent" on the political ground.
Congress chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma seems to dismiss utterances of PCC's former and present presidents and sounds reconciliatory for the ruling party.
Sharma said the Congress as an alliance partner wants the Omar Abdullah-led government to succeed but the BJP government is creating hurdles for them by denying statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
"The statements of the Congress leadership should not be read as against the National Conference government but against the BJP government. BJP at the centre is creating hurdles in the elected government by not granting statehood. All our statements are about the dual control and denial of statehood and implementation of the business rules," Sharma told ETV Bharat.
National Conference president for Kashmir Province, Showkat Mir said the Congress leaders are not speaking against the NC-led government but against the dual control system and delaying statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. “Both the parties have different agendas and policies, but on statehood and other burning issues, Congress and National Conference are on the same page,” Mir told ETV Bharat.
In the 90-member assembly, NC has 42 legislators and with the support of five independent legislators and the lone CPIM MLA Yousuf Tarigami, its number in the assembly is above the majority mark of 44. Given its smaller number of only six MLAs, Congress has not much to bargain in the nine-member cabinet and will most likely get one cabinet seat which it was offered by NC. However it is reluctant to take the offer due to the internal conflict between its key leaders Karra and Ghulam Ahmad Mir, CWC member and former president.
Author and senior journalist Zafar Choudhary said the NC does not take Congress into any consideration as the Congress' number (of legislators) in the assembly is very small.
“NC also has numbers without Congress, so it appears to be a sort of non-existent or non-starter alliance. In the previous coalition governments, confrontations would erupt between the partners over power sharing, domain, departments or cabinet decisions. The present ruling dispensation is completely powerless, so there is no friction over power,” Choudhary told ETV Bharat.
He said two key leaders in Kashmir, Tariq Karra and Ghulam Ahmad Mir, would want to be in the cabinet but the NC has agreed for only one berth to the party.
"This has created an internal conflict within the Congress; especially between Mir and Karra as the party could not build a consensus on the matter. So they have their internal problem than any issue with the government,” he said.
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