Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Sept 15: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president, Tariq Hameed Karra, today said that the party is committed to the restoration of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, as well as land and employment rights, emphasizing that the people are more concerned with reclaiming their rights than specific legal provisions.
The Congress Chief suggested that if Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is apprehensive about restoring Articles 370 and 35A due to potential backlash, it should consider alternative provisions to ensure the same rights are safeguarded.
In an exclusive interview to Excelsior, Karra criticized the BJP’s 2019 abrogation of Article 370, which granted special autonomy to J&K, calling it “undemocratic and unethical.”
“Congress originally granted these rights to J&K, but when the BJP came, they arbitrarily withdrew them. Whether under Article 371, Article 471, or any other provision, restore our statehood, our land rights, and our employment rights. We are interested in our rights, not the nomenclature,” he said.
Speaking about the current political scenario in J&K, the Congress Chief reiterated the importance of the alliance between the Congress Party and the National Conference (NC) in the upcoming elections. He stressed that the main goal of the alliance is to prevent the BJP from gaining control of the region’s political landscape.
He highlighted that the alliance, which is contesting 51 seats for the NC and 32-33 seats for Congress, with 5-6 seats open for friendly contests, was formed based on the people’s wishes to unite like-minded parties against the divisive policies of the BJP. “This is not a normal alliance, and this election is not a normal election,” he said.
He acknowledged that while the alliance has been largely cooperative, a few constituencies have seen tensions, particularly in areas where “friendly contests” have been arranged. “For example, in Banihal, the former president of JKPCC attacked the NC, creating friction between candidates. It is contest-friendly, but the atmosphere is unfriendly,” he admitted, explaining that the conflict is more between individual candidates than the parties themselves. Senior leaders from Delhi intervened, and the Congress condemned such attacks.
Regarding the exclusion of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from the alliance, Karra explained that the current alliance continues from the previous Parliamentary election arrangement, which did not include the PDP. Attempts to include the PDP in the Assembly elections were unsuccessful. “However, smaller parties like the Panther Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) have joined the alliance to broaden its base,” he said.
Addressing remarks by Engineer Abdul Rashid, who accused Congress of being no different from the BJP, the Congress leader dismissed such comments, saying that he would not engage in counter-comments or negativity. “We have to move forward on a note of positivity,” he said.
The Congress president also admitted that not everyone within the party was happy with the alliance, as many local leaders had spent years working in their constituencies and expected to contest elections. “Some leaders were expelled for anti-party activities, while others left voluntarily,” he said. He acknowledged that both the Congress and the NC have faced internal dissatisfaction, but justified the alliance as being in the larger interest of consolidating secular votes
He said the people are looking to escape the current atmosphere of “oppression and suppression” under the BJP’s rule. He accused the BJP of fostering economic, social, and cultural disempowerment, particularly in Kashmir, and claimed that people are keen to rid themselves of this “open jail” environment.
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