New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra on Sunday said the assembly polls are not just about forming a government or adjusting leaders in the dispensation but about “restoration of statehood and powers of the assembly” as well as “our lost dignity”.
Karra was also non-committal on whether the chief minister would be from the National Conference (NC) in case the Congress-NC alliance wins the polls, saying “we can’t forecast things that have to follow after the elections”.
In an interview with PTI, Karra exuded confidence that the Congress-NC combine would form the government crossing the magic mark in the 90-member assembly and the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP would not be able to hamper their chances much.
The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee chief also asserted that the Ghulam Nabi Azad-led Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) is a “closed case” and “doesn’t have a future”.
“I have been on record to say that as far as DPAP is concerned, it is a closed case now. Whatever they had been doing was to cause fragmentation which they failed in. So I don’t think they have any future anymore,” he said.
Asked that with NC being the senior partner in the alliance, was it a foregone conclusion that the chief minister will be from that party, Karra said, “We have an understanding as far as going into elections is concerned. We have a seat arrangement which we call a pre-poll alliance but the result would speak for itself that what would follow. We can’t forecast things which have to follow after the elections.”
On whether he was in the chief ministership, Karra said, “You can’t say it now.”
The NC and the Congress have agreed on a seat-sharing arrangement for the 90 assembly seats, with the National Conference set to contest 51 of them and the Congress 32. They are having a friendly fight on a few seats.
On the Centre significantly strengthening the authority of the Lieutenant Governor in Jammu and Kashmir, Karra claimed that the BJP realised that it would not be forming the government and some other combination would be doing so and therefore, before handing over the power to the next government, they thought it is better to curtail powers.
“This is a politically motivated attempt,” the J&K Congress chief said.
He asserted that while restoration of statehood is the paramount concern, as far as the curtailment of powers of the government is concerned, “we shall have to get it reviewed and the assembly will also decide about it”.
On the main plank of the polls, Karra said today’s elections are not (just) about forming the government or adjusting our leaders in the government, but it has different contours and parameters.
“The parameters are restoration of statehood, restoration of powers of the assembly, restoration of our lost dignity, restoration of our identity. This is not just a development-based election, developments do happen under LG’s, during governor’s rule. Ours is a totally different kind of election this time,” he asserted.
Talking about the security situation of Jammu and Kashmir, Karra lashed out at the BJP, alleging that it is “simply parroting” that the situation is normal on the ground but everyone has seen that only the goal posts have changed from Kashmir to Jammu division.
“It is an utter failure of the government of India and the local administration. They have always been glorifying their double-engine governments and it (the security situation) is a sample case of the failure of those double-engine governments,” the Congress leader said.
“For the last few months everybody is seeing how much damage is being done in the Jammu division while all along it had been a peaceful area but for their utter failure and in their jingoism, they have been using it for their electoral political gains,” he said.
“So, I think it is their moral responsibility to accept their failures,” Karra added.
He also slammed the BJP promises made in its manifesto and said they have been “selling” the situation of Kashmir all over the country and till a few months back they had succeeded in that but now the situation has changed.
“This jugglery of words and jingoism of years has no takers anymore. Whatever they have been promising and whatever they have been selling, I think the shelf-life of that is over now,” Karra said.
On whether the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) could hamper the chances of the Congress-NC alliance, Karra said their tie-up has been a continuation of the previous alliance for parliamentary polls.
“I think we had quite a good result in parliamentary polls except for a setback of Omar Abdullah losing and they (PDP) had a big setback of Mehbooba Mufti losing. I don’t think there is going to be any change of that perception which was created in the previous election. I think it (our result) would be better than the previous result,” he said.
Pressed further about the PDP possibly playing spoiler, Karra said, “When there is a multi-cornered contest things become difficult, but I won’t accept this that they (PDP) will totally hamper it.”
Karra is contesting the polls from Central Shalteng that will go to polls on September 25.
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in three phases with voting for the first phase to be held on September 18 followed by the second phase on September 25 and the third phase on October 1. The results of the polls would be announced on October 8.
Karra is a former PDP leader who quit the party in 2016. He was a fierce critic of the BJP-PDP alliance in Jammu and Kashmir that lasted for three years before ending in 2018. He joined the Congress in 2017, a few months after he resigned from the Lok Sabha and the PDP’s basic membership.
He handed the first-ever electoral defeat to NC president and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah by winning the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency in the 2014 general elections.
