Mubashir Aalam Wani
Srinagar, Jun 2: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) President Tariq Hameed Karra on Monday said the Congress, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, was the only party capable of steering Jammu and Kashmir out of its current political and economic “crisis”.
Speaking to the media here, Karra said, “Whether the issues are political or economic, only Congress under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership can resolve them.”
He said a growing number of influential people were joining the party, including “religious and opinion makers”, indicating that Congress was becoming a “trend” in the region.
Responding to questions on the BJP-led government’s recent infrastructure inaugurations in J&K, Karra termed them as ‘ribbon-cutting ceremonies’ for projects originally initiated by the UPA government. “Whatever progress you see today in Jammu and Kashmir, the foundation of it was laid by the Congress party,” he said.
On the recent push for foreign outreach, the JKPCC Chief alleged that the party was using MPs as “diversion tactics”. “Thousands of crores have been spent on PR exercises abroad,” he claimed.
Referring to the recent Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, including a Kashmiri youth, were killed, Karra alleged a serious security lapse on the part of the government. If the BJP claims to have ended terrorism and restored peace post-Article 370 abrogation, how did terrorists manage to travel over 300 km to Baisaran, he asked.
He questioned the failure to apprehend the perpetrators and criticised the government’s response despite prior intelligence inputs. “Why were no preventive steps taken?” he said, demanding a special session or all-party meeting to answer these questions.
The J&K Congress Chief also raised serious concerns about India’s foreign policy under the Modi government, citing the ceasefire following Indo-Pak clashes and alleged third-party intervention. He said that if reports of the US prompting the ceasefire were true, what happened to the Simla Agreement and India’s long-held stance of bilateralism?
Karra raised questions over External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s public admission that Pakistan was informed ahead of certain military actions. “If true, is this not treason?” he asked. (KNO)
