Following Congress’ announcement of allying with the National Conference (NC) ahead of the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah accused the Congress of repeatedly risking “the nation’s unity and security to satiate its greed for power.”
Taking to social media site X, Shah said, “The Congress party, which has repeatedly risked the nation’s unity and security to satiate its greed for power, has once again exposed its ulterior motives by allying with the Abdullah family’s ‘National Conference’ in the Jammu and Kashmir elections.”
He further questioned the Congress party and their leader, Rahul Gandhi, if they support the promises made by the NC in their election manifesto.
Shah questioned if the Congress party supports NC’s promise of “a separate flag for Jammu and Kashmir,” the “JKNC’s decision to restore Article 370 and 35A,” and thereby “push Jammu and Kashmir back into an era of unrest and terrorism.”
He further asked if the Congress supports the promotion of “separatism again by engaging in dialogue with Pakistan instead of Kashmir’s youth” and on the “National Conference’s decision to start ‘LoC Trade’ with Pakistan” and thereby “nurturing terrorism and its ecosystem across the border.”
Shah also contested Congress’ support in “reinstating relatives of those involved in terrorism and stone-pelting into government jobs, thereby bringing back terrorism, extremism, and the era of strikes” and said that the alliance had exposed the Congress’s “anti-reservation stance.”
“Does the Congress want ‘Shankaracharya Hill’ to be known as ‘Takht-e-Suleiman,’ and ‘Hari Hill’ as ‘Koh-e-Maran’? Does the Congress support the politics of pushing Jammu and Kashmir’s economy back into corruption and handing it over to selected Pakistan-supported families? Does the Congress party support the JKNC’s politics of discrimination between Jammu and the Valley? Do the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi support the JKNC’s divisive politics of granting autonomy to Kashmir?” Shah added.
This interrogation of the Congress party by Amit Shah came after Congress and the NC announced a pre-poll alliance on Thursday.
The pre-poll alliance was announced soon after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge met NC chief Farooq Abdullah.
After the meeting, Farooq said that the Congress-NC would fight for all 90 seats in the assembly polls.
The formal announcement of the tie-up was made by NC patron Farooq Abdullah in Srinagar. “United we stand,” JKNC posted on X.
The announcement was made after Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar met Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.
“Congress and we (NC) are together. Tarigami sahab (CPM’s M.Y. Tarigami) is also with us. I hope that our people are with us so that we can win and do better for the people. The alliance has been finalised and by this evening the details of seat-sharing will be announced. The Alliance is for 90 seats,” Farooq Abdullah said.
“People have suffered much in the last 10 years. Statehood is the prime concern for us. And we want all the powers of the state. Our common program is to fight divisive forces. Our doors are open for all; let’s first win the election. My heart is happy today,” the NC patron added.
The Congress and the NC had fought the Lok Sabha elections in alliance with each other. The National Conference won two seats–Anantnag and Srinagar. The Congress could not win any seats.
Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1. The results will be announced on October 4.
The Election Commission has issued notification for the first phase of assembly seats for 24 seats. This is the first assembly poll in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370. (ANI)
