Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra on Saturday clarified that while the Congress supports the National Conference (NC)-led government in the Union Territory, it is not part of the administration.
He said the NC, despite having a pre-poll alliance with the Congress, had unilaterally announced its candidates for the recent Rajya Sabha elections and also decided on the Nagrota Assembly bypoll without consulting the Congress.
“We are supporting the government, but are not a part of it. We have not taken any Cabinet berths, even though we fought the last Assembly elections together—each with our own manifesto and agenda,” Karra told reporters after flagging off a vehicle carrying over two lakh signatures collected against ‘Vote Chori’ from Jammu and Kashmir to the AICC headquarters in New Delhi.
The signatures will be submitted to AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Karra said, describing the campaign as “historic” and a potential “turning point for the retrieval of democracy” in the country, which, according to him, has been under threat since 2014.
On Congress not contesting the Rajya Sabha elections and the upcoming Nagrota bypoll on November 11, Karra said the NC’s unilateral decisions left them with no choice.
“It takes courage to stay away. The NC fielded candidates on three safe Rajya Sabha seats and left one risky seat for us. We asked for one of the safe seats, but they refused—so we decided not to contest. Our stand was vindicated when the NC lost that seat to the BJP,” he said.
Karra added that the NC later announced it would leave the Nagrota seat for the Congress, again without consultation, prompting the party to opt out of the by-election.
Earlier, Karra referred to the “illegalities and irregularities” exposed by Rahul Gandhi, from flaws in the voter list to the conduct of elections, stressing that a free, fair, and transparent electoral process is the “backbone of democracy.”
He cautioned party workers against attempts to manipulate voter lists and other stages of the electoral process, calling such acts “dangerous for democracy.”
Karra said it was the duty of the Congress to defend democratic institutions from being “hijacked,” and praised Rahul Gandhi’s leadership for “courageously leading the fight to safeguard democracy in the country.”
