Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra on Thursday dismissed rumours of any rift with the National Conference and said his party is very much part of the Omar Abdullah-led government in the Union Territory.
He expected the formation of a coordination committee, comprising members of Congress and National Conference, soon.
“We are on a campaign for restoration of statehood and meeting people and workers. The Congress has its own constituency and wherever we talk to the people about our programmes on issues like statehood, they also talk about various concerns and it is our duty to raise these issues with the government for redressal,” he said.
“We are a part of the government. We can give advice to the government. We can raise the issues of the people and if you want that the issues of the people should not be discussed, then it will not be fair to the people,” Karra told reporters here.
He said they are expecting that a coordination committee will be formed soon to avoid unnecessary misgivings.
J&K Congress has been on a 15-day campaign in Jammu region in support of its demand for immediate restoration of statehood to the Union Territory since February 13 and has organised workers’ conventions in five of the 10 districts so far.
“It (restoration of statehood) is not Congress party’s core issue alone. It is the core issue of the people of Jammu and Kashmir as despite promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Home Minister Amit Shah within and outside the Parliament, nothing has been done so far. There are also Supreme Court guidelines that statehood should be restored as soon as possible (after the assembly elections),” he said.
Questioning the silence of BJP leaders who have got a massive mandate in Jammu, the Congress leader said the saffron party leaders should clarify their stand on the statehood and also inform the public why they are not raising the issue with central leadership if they are in support of the statehood.
Karra said despite the formation of the popular NC-led government in October, last year, several bureaucrats are still functioning in an authoritarian manner like they were doing during LG administration and referred to the conditional permission granted to the party in holding its workers convention in Kishtwar district on Wednesday.
“In Kishtwar, we saw something where we feel that democracy has not been restored even after the elections. We witnessed autocracy prevailing in the district in the name of democracy. We were not given permission to hold outdoor meetings and were also directed that you cannot speak about the situation,” he said.
On one hand, he said BJP is claiming that the situation has improved in J&K but on the other hand, there is a “mindset that portrays that democracy has not been restored”.
“We were not there to create a commotion. There was no anti-national activity,” he said.
The Congress leader and the people in general are worried about the delay in the restoration of statehood and also wanted redressal of their day-to-day issues like supply of electricity, water, tourism promotion, employment generation and regularization of daily-wage workers and SPOs who are providing their services for decades together.
Karra also demanded a special power package for the residents of Chenab valley districts where major hydro-electric power projects are under construction.
He also defended his son Waleed, a medical doctor, attending an official meeting chaired by Health and Education minister Sakina Itoo in Srinagar recently and said he was there in the capacity of constituency-incharge of the central Shalteng seat.
“I was away in Jammu and accordingly nominated him as constituency incharge. This has been the precedent and it is not happening for the first time,” he said.
Karra demanded a review of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), saying people of the region have suffered the most due to more than six-decade-old agreement.
India and Pakistan signed the treaty in 1960 after nine years of negotiations. The World Bank was a signatory of the pact which sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two sides on the use of waters of cross-border rivers.
“As we have already mentioned in our (assembly election) manifesto that there should be a review of the IWT as the people of J&K have suffered the most due to the agreement,” Karra told a press conference here.
The Congress leader, who is leading the party’s 15-day campaign in support of restoration of statehood over the past week in Jammu region, addressed workers’ convention in Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar in the Chenab valley region, which houses most of the hydro-electric power projects in J&K.
Justifying the demand of people of Chenab region regarding free or subsidised electricity, Karra said the government should consider it and devise a suitable mechanism in this regard.
He alleged that instead of listening to the agitated people of the Chenab region, the administration is threatening to book them under the Public Safety Act.
“Is this the way of dealing with people in a democracy?” he asked and said the constitution grants permission to the people to raise their issues through peaceful protests.
