Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 4: J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) President Tariq Hameed Karra today said that the issue of Statehood will be at the top of the Congress party’s agenda during the upcoming Assembly elections.
Speaking to reporters in Anantnag, Karra said the Congress has been consistently advocating for the restoration of Statehood even before the Assembly elections and will continue to raise the demand with greater intensity.
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“Congress’s strategy is known to everyone. We have been demanding the restoration of Statehood and carried that campaign across J&K. It was endorsed by Malikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi in Delhi. The issue of Statehood will be raised with full intensity-it will be at the top,” he said.
On the ongoing protests in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and the state’s response, Karra said PoJK is an integral part of India and the people there are facing “politics of repression.”
“Parliament has already passed a resolution that PoJK is part of India. Our sympathies are with the people there, who are being handled undemocratically and subjected to political repression,” he said, adding that Congress opposes repression anywhere and stands with those affected.
Commenting on Sonam Wangchuk, Karra said he was once hailed as a nationalist but has now been branded “anti-national.” He said that Wangchuk has become the “victim” of BJP’s mindset.
“BJP used him to glorify the abrogation of Article 370 and 35-A and praise the Prime Minister. Until yesterday, he was a nationalist; overnight, he has become anti-national. This reflects the BJP’s mindset-‘my way or the highway’-he has become a victim of that,” he remarked. On the selection of candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, Karra said the Congress party has its own internal mechanism for decision-making.
“The central leadership will take a call on this. All the speculation around it is just that-speculation,” he said.
Reiterating the party’s position on international issues, Karra said Congress has always supported the cause of Palestine.
“Last year, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) passed a resolution expressing support for the people of Palestine and their legitimate cause,” he added.
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