Mubashir Alam Wani
Srinagar, Jun 27: Two former ministers including Taj Mohi-ud-din and G M Saroori on Friday rejoined Congress party in presence of Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Chief Tariq Hameed Karra.
The duo had parted ways with the Congress following the launch of Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP). However, they stayed for a brief period there and contested the 2024 Assembly elections as independent candidates.
Today, the former ministers rejoined the party today in Srinagar.
Karra hinted at the return of more political leaders to the Congress fold, saying a process of case-by-case evaluation was underway within the party.
Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Karra said the Congress was in touch with multiple leaders who had previously distanced themselves from the party. “There is a process here. There is a procedure. Leaders are being evaluated on a case-to-case basis,” Karra said, adding that some individuals are already in the pipeline.
The JKPCC chief, however, made it clear that the party was open to welcoming back those who have shown willingness to return, but only after proper internal scrutiny.
“Whether they had left Congress or joined other organisations, they still have links with us,” Many of them are in touch with us, and we are evaluating those connections,” he said.
Karra stated that political influence was not tied to the individual alone but also to the workers and grassroots networks they bring along.
“When a leader returns, they don’t come alone. Their workers and influence follow. We have seen that with the return of Taj Sahib and Saroori Sahib,” he said.
Karra said that the party’s outreach has generated strong responses across various regions of Jammu and Kashmir, indicating more political activity in the coming weeks.
He highlighted the Congress party’s principled stand on the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, calling it a non-negotiable condition for joining any government formation.
“It is not about power-sharing or alliance. Our stand was clear even before the elections, we will not be part of any cabinet until full statehood is restored to the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Karra said.
Meanwhile, this rejoining came on the heels of other prominent political figures—Choudhary Guzlar Khatana and Muhammad Amin Bhat, who also returned to the Congress fold.
