Srinagar: Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Saturday slammed the Congress for joining hands with the National Conference (NC) ahead of three-phase Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls starting September 18.
Speaking to reporters, Singh accused the Congress of compromising national unity and security to satisfy its desire for power and questioned the party’s motives in allying with the NC.
“The Congress, which has repeatedly risked the nation’s unity and security for power, has again exposed its ulterior motive by allying with Farooq Abdullah’s NC ahead of the J&K polls,” Singh said.
The Congress forged an alliance with the NC for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir due to its “lust for power”, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said.
Dhami also posed 10 questions to the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi and asked them to explain why the party allied with the NC and the Abdullah family.
He alleged that the Abdullahs “pushed back” Jammu and Kashmir for three decades and “ruined” it.
Describing the NC as a party that “fomented separatism and terrorism” in Jammu and Kashmir, Dhami said, “(Rahul) Gandhi owes an explanation to the nation on whether, by entering into an alliance with the National Conference, he supports the party’s promise of a separate flag for Jammu and Kashmir and restoration of Article 370.”
“Gandhi and his party must explain whether they want to push Jammu and Kashmir back into disorder. Does he support separatism and cross-border terrorism and the National Conference’s decision of resuming trade with Pakistan?” Dhami asked during a press conference.
He also described the Congress as a party that always played with the country’s unity and integrity due to its lust for power.
Dhami alleged that the alliance exposed the Congress’ true intentions.
He said the Congress spread a lie during the Lok Sabha polls that if the Narendra Modi government returned to power at the Centre, the system of reservation would come to an end.
“Would he (Rahul Gandhi) explain if, by entering into an alliance with the National Conference, he supports its agenda of ending the quotas for Gujjar Bakarwals and the hill people of Jammu and Kashmir?” Dhami asked.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday slammed the Congress for allying with the National Conference.
Speaking on the alliance, Yadav said, “Does Congress support a separate flag for J&K in accordance with the manifesto of NC? Does Congress want to reintroduce article 370 and 35A in J&K? Congress wants to create anarchy in the country by forging an alliance for vote bank.”
Asserting that the Congress wanted to restart a dialogue with Pakistan, he said the party must recall the reasons due to which 40,000 people were killed in Kashmir, which has entered a new phase along with the rest of the country.
“Does Congress wish for Shankaracharya Parvat to be known as Takht-e-Suliman and Hari Parvat as Koh-e-Maran? Does Congress want to create trouble for Baba Amarnath Yatra again? Because these were the reasons due to which there was unrest in Kashmir,” the MP CM further said.
Accusing the Congress of wanting to deprive Dalits, Gujjar, Bakarwal and Paharis (residents of hills) of reservations, Yadav said the party played a role in the division of Jammu and Kashmir along with NC.
“The Congress is joining anarchist forces at a time when J&K is changing. In electoral politics, there should be limits of political parties and Congress should ponder on national issues,” he said.
People want to know from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge what compulsion the party was facing that it needs to stand with the National Conference, Yadav said.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said the Congress, which has been out of power for a decade, “has once again shown its intention to play with the unity and security of the country in its greed for power.”
“By allying with the Abdullah family’s National Conference, the Congress party has revealed its intentions. The people of the country want to know how the Congress is supporting the promises made in the National Conference’s manifesto,” he said.
Patel asked whether the Congress supported the promise of a separate flag in Jammu and Kashmir and if it wanted to push the UT back into “the era of unrest by bringing back Article 370 and Article 35A”.
“The real face of the Congress, which supports the divisive thinking and policies of the National Conference of giving autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir, has now been revealed to the people. There is no doubt that the Congress has formed an alliance with the NC with the sole intention of gaining power,” he further said.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said “those who are opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi have now changed their political strategy. During Lok Sabha elections, the face of the opposition was Rahul Gandhi but actually the election was fought by anarchist forces, who created false and negative narratives.”
“Those forces (anarchists) are still around the Congress party. Now, our fight should be for the sake of our country and for safeguarding our democracy,” he added.
Fadnavis said the BJP was affected by negativity created by these forces during the Lok Sabha polls, in which the party lost its majority in Parliament and ended up with 240 seats, because it was not alert “but now we need to be alert”.
“The Congress is with these divisive forces. They know they will not win elections if the country remains united,” he commented.
He also said the Congress was now saying there should not be reservations for SC, ST and OBC segments.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary also lashed out at the Congress for tying up with the NC.
The former Bihar BJP president was addressing a press conference at the party office, where he asked the Congress, in particular, and INDIA bloc in general, to come clean on the NC’s alleged controversial stand on a number of issues.
“The Congress has aligned with the National Conference for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir. It must disclose as to whether it was in agreement with the NC’s contention on Article 370 and advocacy for Kashmir having a separate flag,” Choudhary said.
“While the Narendra Modi government is striving to achieve ‘Akhand Bharat’, as envisaged by Chanakya millennia ago, NC seeks trade ties with Pakistan, even along the Line of Control, which militates against our stand that entire Kashmir is part of India. The Congress must clear its stand in the matter,” he said.
The BJP leader also alleged that NC was “anti reservations” and opposed to quotas for SCs and STs “introduced in Jammu and Kashmir in the upcoming assembly polls”.
The Congress must explain how it reconciles itself with the NC’s stand on reservations and on Pakistan which has relentlessly sponsored terror from across the border, severely affecting our diplomatic relations with the neighbouring country, Choudhary added.
