The Hindu : Cong. wants Farooq Govt. to go

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 11, 2002

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Other States - Jammu & Kashmir

Cong. wants Farooq Govt. to go

By Shujaat Bukhari

The AICC general secratery, Ambika Soni, addressing a press conference in Srinagar on Saturday. The Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Digvijay Singh, is at right. — Photo: Nissar Ahmad

SRINAGAR AUG. 10. The Congress today said that it would fight the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections with the aim of forming the Government to help the people ``get rid of the corrupt regime of Farooq Abdullah''.

``The Assembly elections in J&K are important to us and we will not contest these elections for the sake of elections,'' the AICC general secretary, Ambika Soni, told a news conference here today. The Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Digvijay Singh, and the PCC leader, Peerzada Mohammad Saeed, were also present.

Ms. Soni said ``our party will strive for the resolution of the Kashmir problem, and election is best means for that''.

There should to be a level playing field for elections, which was absent in Kashmir as, according to her, the National Conference Government was not allowing ``free political activity''.

She alleged that as against 4,000 political workers of the NC, only 54 Congress activists and leaders had been provided security despite the increased threat perception.

There had to be greater participation of the people to make elections more credible.

That was why the party was demanding Governor's rule.

Asked whether the Congress would apologise to the people for the ``massacres which took place in their regime'' she said ``every such incident is unfortunate but it has to be seen in a different context''.

The Congress alleged that the NC was sponsoring ``state terrorism'' in Kashmir.

Congress leader, Ahmed Patel, said that the party had the bitter experience of having an alliance with the NC. ``We will have no relation whatsoever with the NC from now,'' he said ruling out any alliance with that party. However, he said nothing could be said now about tie-ups with other parties.

Mr. Singh said that ``in a democracy, the ultimate end is the election and people here are demanding free and fair polls''.

The people apprehended that elections would not be fair and nobody wanted to live here with a sense of insecurity, he said.

When asked about the 1987 elections when the Congress was an ally of the NC and when the elections were allegedly rigged, he said ``with situations, political decisions keep on changing''.

Development, prosperity and a corruption-free government would be their poll plank.

`Secret alliance'

Our Jammu Staff Reporter writes:

Speaking at a rally at the Zanana Park in Jammu, Mr. Singh alleged that the BJP and the NC were having a secret pre-poll alliance for their mutual benefit. The politics of Dr. Abdullah was an ``example of electoral oppurtunism''.

``It is a matter of sadness that the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir has allied with a party like the BJP and has not respected the ideals shown

by the late Sheikh Abdullah and his 1975 accord with Centre.''

He said Dr. Abdullah had no right to seek autonomy as he was still to devolve powers to the panchayats elections for which were held 16 months back.

There were contradictions between the RSS and the BJP as previously they had fought elections demanding the abrogation of Article 370.

Now the Sangh Parivar put all these issues on the back-burner which shows the ``sheer electoral oppurtunism,'' he said.

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