New Delhi: The Congress party has decided to join the all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 24. It will be the first such meeting called by the Center since the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A on August 5, 2019.
The decision was being taken during a meeting, chaired by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, including senior party leaders of the state. Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh was also a part of this meeting, along with Karan Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, P Chidambaram, Ghulam Ahmad Mir and some others.
Three members of the Congress party including former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, ex-deputy CM Tara Chand and Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir are scheduled to attend the meeting on June 24.
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"The party believes that dialogue is the only way to resolve any problem. However, we believe there must be an agenda for this meeting. No agenda has been mentioned in the invitation, so it would not be correct to speculate on it," Mir said after the meeting.
Earlier, Congress had clearly stated that it would stick to the demand of restoration of full statehood to J&K, which was mentioned in its resolution of Congress Working Committee on August 6, 2019.
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On Sunday, Congress General Secretary and Chief Spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said during a press conference, "The resolution passed by Congress Working Committee on August 6, 2019, whereby the Indian National Congress clearly demanded the restoration of full statehood for the state of Jammu and Kashmir. We believe that undoing it, is a direct attack on democracy and constitutional principles."
"INC believes that grant of full statehood to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and also holding elections so that people are able to elect their representatives and have an Assembly of their own to carry on the affairs of the state instead of a rule by Delhi, is the only way forward to guarantee full restoration of democratic rights in Jammu and Kashmir," he further added.
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