E-Paper
Congress not to play second fiddle to NC in J&K
Congress is for the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the constitution of India as per its current status and has ruled out shrinking its role or playing a 'second fiddle' to the ruling alliance partner National Conference that is beating drum about the restoration of autonomy.
Congress is for the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the constitution of India as per its current status and has ruled out shrinking its role or playing a 'second fiddle' to the ruling alliance partner National Conference that is beating drum about the restoration of autonomy.
Clarifying Congress' stand on Justice (Retired) Sageer Ahmad’s report that suggested a referendum on the Article 370 and at the same time contradicted itself by favouring restoration of autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir, PCC chief Saif-ud-Din Soz said that "everything would be within the constitution of India as it exists today."
In an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times, the state Congress chief said: “The message is clear,” without elaborating on the significance of his words.
But this clearly implied that the autonomy of the state as it existed as of now would not be extended to the level of pre-1953 status of the state.
Soz was a member of the fifth working group, headed by Sageer Ahmad, that submitted its report to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on December 23rd.
The current position is that Jammu and Kashmir is having its own constitution and flag and a privilege that no Central law passed by the Parliament can be extended to Jammu and Kashmir without the approval of the state legislature.
National Conference’s autonomy demand is for reverting to the situation that existed prior to August 1953, when Sheikh Abdullah, the then Prime Minister of the state was deposed and many central laws were extended to the state.
PCC Chief categorically dispelled the impression that Congress was toeing the NC line on almost every issue. “ We are a national party and having our presence in all the three regions. We are getting stronger by day.”
“Let me make it very clear that Congress will never play a B team to National Conference and there was no question of our party playing a second fiddle to NC,” Soz said and added, “We decided about Chief Minister from National Conference, rest we are equal partners in the government.”
“Congress is expanding its space in the state and party is having a rich future in Jammu and Kashmir," he said. The NC-Congress coalition will be one-year old in a weeks' time.
Reflecting on the fifth working group report, he said that the autonomy is one document, like other documents and averred that even PDP’s self rule document was “relevant for discussion.”
Soz who had played a critical role in getting the dialogue resumed between separatists and Centre in 2005, said that stage has reached “where a decisive dialogue can take place” and he hoped that it would happen.
