After holding a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, the Congress on Saturday demanded a special session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly to thoroughly discuss the issue of the restoration of statehood and devise a joint strategy to mount pressure on the Union Government.
"A three-day special session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly should be convened to discuss the issue of the restoration of statehood," said Tariq Hamid Karra, president of the J&K unit of the Congress.
"In the session, a joint strategy should be devised to accelerate the movement for the restoration of statehood," Karra added.
The J&K Congress chief said that for the past six months, the Congress has been mobilizing public support in favour of the demand for the restoration of statehood.
Karra further said that the Congress high command has extended wholehearted support to this demand. "The Congress high command has assured us that it will take this movement to its logical conclusion," he asserted.
"We Have Not Hijacked NC's Agenda on Statehood"
Putting to rest all reports suggesting that the Congress has hijacked the National Conference's (NC) agenda on statehood by unilaterally giving the "Delhi Chalo" call to gherao Parliament, Karra clarified that his party has been mobilizing public support through various protest programmes over the past six months.
Launching a veiled attack on coalition partner National Conference for not taking allies on board, the J&K Congress chief said that during the last nine months since the formation of the Omar Abdullah-led government, no sincere efforts have been made to constitute a Coordination Committee or to draft a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) for the coalition government.
"This is not an issue of ego. The National Conference should reach out to us, because statehood is on the agenda of all coalition partners," he said, adding that, being in power, the National Conference leadership is hesitant to take to the streets to demand statehood.
"Since the formation of the government in Jammu and Kashmir, we have been calling for the formation of a Coordination Committee and the drafting of the CMP to build consensus on key issues," Karra said, adding, "Both the Congress and the ruling National Conference have been working on their respective agendas and ideologies."
"Our first phase of the struggle reached Delhi, and the entire campaign was very impressive and successful—particularly the 'Delhi Chalo' call, under which we held a strong protest demonstration and marched towards Parliament before being stopped," he said.
He added, "Our demonstration was joined by senior national leaders on the directions of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. It attracted national attention to the BJP government's continued denial of our legitimate demand, despite repeated promises."
Karra thanked party leaders and workers for their wholehearted participation in the first phase of the struggle. He added that the movement has just begun and that the next course of action will be announced shortly after consultations with senior party colleagues.
