The newly-appointed president of the Indian Youth Congress, Uday Bhanu Chib, has said that the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election is being fought by the people against the dictatorial BJP government at the Centre.
“The Congress-NC alliance is going to form government (in Jammu and Kashmir) on 8th October. I hope that we will form government with a good majority. These elections are not being fought by the Congress or NC but by the people of Jammu and Kashmir against this dictatorial government,” Chib told ANI.
Before being appointed as president of the Indian Youth Congress, Chib was its Jammu and Kashmir chief. He thanked Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi for appointing him as the IYC chief.
“First of all, I would like to thank Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge for giving this opportunity to a man from an ordinary family in Jammu,” he said.
He said that the IYC will take up the issues of paper leaks and unemployment and make the BJP-led Union Government accountable.
Chib said the Congress-NC government will restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Our manifesto says that as soon as we form our government, Congress will restore the statehood.”
Jammu and Kashmir is voting for its 90-member assembly in three phases. The first and the second phases of voting took place on September 18 and 25, respectively.
Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing an interesting contest with several political parties and independents in the fray. NCP and Congress have forged a pre-poll alliance in the UT. These elections, the first since the abrogation of Article 370, are being held after nearly a decade in the Union Territory.
Meanwhile, reacting to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks that the National Conference (NC) and Congress alliance would “follow the agenda of Pakistan,” NC Vice President Omar Abdullah on Thursday countered that the party would have pursued such an agenda 35 years ago if that were the case.
“We don’t expect anything more from the BJP. The National Conference is an organization that has made thousands of sacrifices over the last 35 years. If we had to follow Pakistan’s agenda, we would have done so 35 years ago. Perhaps then, my more than 4,500 companions would not have been sacrificed,” Abdullah said while speaking to reporters in Kupwara.
“If Union Home Minister Amit Shah wants to ignore the sacrifices made by the National Conference, what can I do about it?” he added.
The third and final phase of voting will take place on October 1, while the counting of votes will be held on October 8. Assembly elections are being held in the Union Territory nearly a decade after the last polls and are the first since the abrogation of Article 370. (ANI)
