Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president Tariq Hameed Karra on Tuesday attributed National Conference MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi’s differences with his party to a possible lack of ideological compatibility, while asserting that the Congress would stand firmly with the NC whenever it faced a threat from the BJP.
Reacting to recent political developments, including reported dissent among NC legislators following the recent Cabinet expansion and Ruhullah’s resignation from the party, Karra expressed confidence that the National Conference would be able to manage the situation.
Asked about Ruhullah’s resignation, Karra said every individual had their own reasons for quitting a party, adding that, in his understanding, it appeared to stem from a lack of compatibility.
“He had a different perspective, while the party was moving in a different direction. Perhaps there was also a lack of ideological compatibility,” Karra told PTI on the sidelines of a party function here.
Drawing a parallel with his own resignation from Parliament and the PDP in September 2016, as well as Ghulam Nabi Azad’s resignation from the Congress in August 2022, the JKPCC president said political leaders had their own reasons for taking such decisions.
Karra said it was too early to speculate about the stability or tenure of the NC-led government amid reports of separate meetings by several MLAs and Ruhullah’s resignation.
Such developments were not unusual in political parties and governments and could be handled through dialogue and internal coordination, he said.
“I am very sure that the National Conference will be quite active in handling the situation,” he said.
Commenting on BJP leader Ram Madhav’s visit to Jammu and speculation about a possible major political development after Tuesday, Karra said the Congress had no information about any such move.
“As far as we know, there is no such development, nor are we anticipating anything of that sort. We will wait and see what happens,” he said.
Karra reiterated that the Congress would stand by the National Conference whenever the latter faced a threat from the BJP.
“We have always maintained that whenever the National Conference faces any threat from the BJP, the Congress Party must stand firmly alongside the National Conference,” he said.
He said the Congress would continue its campaigns for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
“Congress has been organising protests, hunger strikes and campaigns such as ‘Jammu Chalo’ and ‘Delhi Chalo’ over the past two years under the slogan ‘Our State, Our Right’. This is an ongoing movement for the restoration of statehood and such programmes will continue,” he said.
