A massive controversy erupted in the faction-ridden Congress after the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) disowned the Scheduled Caste Department chairperson, Karan Bhagat, for organising a function attended by Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Vikar Rasool Wani and J&K SC Cell in-charge Tina Choudhary.
Within minutes of being disowned by the party, Karan Bhagat challenged the authority of JKPCC chief Tariq Hamid Karra to take action against him.
"Who is Tariq Hamid Karra to disown me?" Bhagat told the International Business Times, adding, "Karra himself is an outsider in the Congress and is not aware of the party's culture."
"I have been appointed as the Scheduled Caste Department chairperson by the All India Congress Committee (AICC). The Pradesh leadership has no authority to disown me," he said, alleging, "Tariq Hamid Karra is not aware of the Congress culture because he is a product of the PDP."
Bhagat further accused Karra of pursuing "soft separatism" to damage the Congress's prospects across Jammu and Kashmir.
"Unlike other political parties, the Congress is a centrist party with a base in both Jammu and Kashmir. Instead of adopting a balanced approach, Tariq Hamid Karra has made Congress the B-team of the PDP by taking a separatist line on contentious issues," he alleged.
"When Congress Working Committee members, along with the J&K SC Cell in-charge, were present at today's programme, how can this event be called unauthorized and illegal?" he asked.
Sources said Bhagat, as the chairman of the SC Department, organised the function outside the PCC headquarters after being denied permission to hold it on the premises. The event was presided over by former JKPCC president and Karra's arch-rival, Vikar Rasool Wani. Minutes after the programme concluded, the party issued a statement disowning Bhagat.
Karan Bhagat is notorious for using foul language: Congress
In an official handout, the JKPCC stated that it had taken strong exception to the "highly objectionable and unauthorized activities" of Karan Bhagat, who "stands disowned by the party pending further action" for "gross indiscipline, anti-party activities, and levelling false, baseless and malicious allegations against the top leadership."
The party further alleged that Bhagat's claim for a party ticket during the 2024 Assembly elections was rejected by the high command on merit after "serious complaints" regarding his conduct and reputation.
The statement also expressed surprise over the participation of some party leaders in an "unauthorised event held in the name of the SC Department" despite the absence of any duly appointed chairman after Bhagat's resignation, submitted via social media, containing "motivated and concocted allegations aimed at tarnishing the party's image."
"He is notorious for his foul language and undesirable activities, and he misled party leaders and workers into participating in an unauthorized event, which amounts to serious indiscipline," J&K Congress working president Raman Bhalla said, adding that the matter would be reported to the high command for action against all those "encouraging indiscipline."
