National

Congress will name Omar’s deputy soon: Moily

NEW DELHI: The Congress will name the deputy Chief Minister for Jammu and Kashmir any time now, party leader Veerappa Moily said here on Saturday.

Rejecting the suggestion that the Congress had handed over the government on a “platter” to the National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir for a good six years, Mr. Moily said the priority for the party was to provide a stable government in the State.

“The decision was taken in the interest of the nation as the National Conference-led alliance with the Congress was the best solution to provide a stable government,” he said.

Under the post-poll alliance between the two parties, the National Conference will hold the post of the Chief Minister for the entire six-year term while the deputy Chief Minister will be of the Congress.

Omar Abdullah has already been named as the Chief Minister and the Congress is expected to name its deputy Chief Ministerial candidate by January 5 when the new government is formed in the State.

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) took a firm decision to hold free and fair elections in the State and the Congress salutes the people for reposing unflinching faith in the Alliance, Mr. Moily added. “Jammu and Kashmir has its own tradition and legacy from the days of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and Jawaharlal Nehru,” he said.

On the outcome of Andhra Pradesh Zilla Parishad polls, Mr. Moily said he had decided to fix accountability for the poor performance of the Congress in Kurnool and East Godavari districts. To this end, he had asked the two State ministers – in charge of these districts – to resign. “It is high time that people were held accountable,” he said, though he refused to comment on fixing the accountability for the party’s dismal performance in the Karnataka by-elections, and Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, saying that he was not in charge of these States.

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