"Keeping all differences with NC on back burner to uphold our secular ethos; we choose principle over expediency; ignored past treatment from NC for larger cause of J&K's unity"
Srinagar, Oct 23 (KNS): Ending days of speculation over its stand, the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee on Thursday said that all six of its legislators will vote in favour of the National Conference candidates in Friday’s Rajya Sabha elections, calling the decision a “moral stand” to keep the BJP away from power.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, JKPCC President Tariq Hameed Karra said the party had held two rounds of discussions, one on Wednesday and another earlier on Thursday, before finalising the decision in consultation with the party’s central leadership in New Delhi.
“Having taken into account our own sensitivities as a suffering state, and as a steadfast secular party, we have decided to keep all differences with the National Conference on the back burner only to prove our commitment to our own ethos,” Karra said.
He said the Congress had chosen the “path of principle over expediency” despite its grievances with the NC over seat-sharing and coordination within the alliance. “Rajya Sabha polls this time have come as a challenge. We wish that the NC keeps its flock together against all temptations and manipulations, for which we offer our support,” he said.
Reaffirming the Congress’s broader fight against the BJP, Karra said the party’s decision was guided by the “larger cause” of protecting Jammu and Kashmir’s democratic and secular fabric.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
“It is this larger cause and our fight with the BJP at the national level that we ignore being guided by the treatment we were meted out from the National Conference as an ally,” he added.
Karra said that all six Congress MLAs, Ghulam Amir, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, Nizamuddin Bhat, Advocate Irfan Hafeez Lone, and Iftikhar Ahmed were part of the deliberations and had unanimously endorsed the decision. “We direct our honourable members to cast their votes in favour of the National Conference candidate in the Rajya Sabha. A party whip has also been issued,” he said as per KNS.
The JKPCC chief also appreciated NC candidate Shammi Oberoi for his constructive approach during talks between the two parties. “Mr. Shammi Oberoi, as interlocutor, turned negotiations into understanding and differences into dialogue,” Karra said.
He added that the party would soon release two formal communications addressed to NC President Dr. Farooq Abdullah, outlining the terms of their understanding and their shared vision for the alliance.(KNS)