NC manifesto: Congress on defensive foot after Shah’s ‘tacit endorsement’ charge

Party leaders dodge Art 370 debate; ‘NC is a secular party, BJP has history of double standards’: Cong spokesperson

Jammu: The Congress party is in a tight spot in Jammu region after the Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a strong critique, accusing the grand-old party of ‘tacitly endorsing’ the National Conference (NC) manifesto, particularly on the NC’s push to restore Article 370 and Article 35-A.
Shah’s remarks, coupled with allegations that the NC’s manifesto also includes controversial agenda like alleged absolving stone-pelters and revisiting terrorism cases, have left Congress leaders struggling to address “nationalist” concerns in the region amid the party high command’s silence so far.
The situation is that the Congress leaders are deliberately avoiding contentious issues such as the restoration of Article 370 and the alleged release of youths involved in stone-pelting during their election campaigning to steer clear of local controversies and potential backlash in their constituencies.
The Union Home Minister while releasing the party’s manifesto here in Jammu had recently said, “It is surprising to see the election manifesto of the National Conference and even more astonishing that a national party like Congress silently supports it”.
Shah had also criticised Congress Rahul Gandhi for remaining silent on the NC’s manifesto of the National Conference “advocating the restoration of Article 370, saying “Rahul Gandhi should clarify whether his Congress party endorses the agenda of its ally, the National Conference, or not”.
Shah had indicated that Rahul Gandhi would not provide a response and “he was entirely in agreement with the NC’s agenda”. He questioned, “Does the Congress party agree with these agendas? Do they want to bring back Article 370?”
Pertinently, the BJP draws its strength in the Jammu region which has 43 Assembly seats as against 47 of Kashmir division. In the last Assembly polls held in 2014, the BJP won 25 seats out of the then total of 37. The PDP was the single largest party with 28 seats while the NC and the Congress had 15 and 12 seats respectively.
This time, Congress has been contesting on 32, a majority of these are in Jammu region, out of the total 90 assembly seats in the Union Territory. The party has entered a pre-poll alliance with the National Conference which is contesting 51 seats.
Talking to The News Now, J&K Congress chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma has accused the BJP of double standards, pointing out its past coalition with both the NC and the PDP.
Sharma defended Congress’s stance, saying “The BJP is creating this false narrative because they are afraid of losing the elections. They have a history of double standards. It previously shared the government with PDP which had a more aggressive manifesto”.
He added, “Our manifesto is yet to come. Once the government is formed, we will formulate a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) to address all contentious issues.”
Sharma also described the National Conference as a secular party that has ruled Jammu and Kashmir for more than five decades. “There could be differences of opinion of the two parties on certain issues which will be sorted out through CMP after the election. In contrast, the BJP has supported parties with a shady background in the past,” he said.

Updated On 9/9/2024 7:49:17 AM