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| Wounded NC will not help desperate Cong implement its agenda | | | Rustam
JAMMU, July 23: The Congress high command has, according to insiders, asked the Congress Ministers in Jammu and Kashmir to go aggressive and use their position to fulfill the promises the party made in 2008 before the party goes to the polls in November-December. "Don't worry even if there is confrontation with the NC. Be aggressive. They must do all that they could to fulfill the 2008 promises the party made to the people," informed a credible source in the Congress. The issues which the Congress high command wants the Congress Ministers in Jammu and Kashmir to take up in a big way include the demands of the refugees from Pakistan-occupied-Jammu and Kashmir and border migrants, including displaced persons from Chhamb, and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
These social groups constitute nearly 25 lakh of the state's population and can influence the poll outcome in many constituencies not only in Jammu province but also in Kashmir. These social groups voted overwhelmingly against the Congress candidates in the Lok Sabha election. The Congress believes that if the OBCs are given five per cent reservation and the refugees from PoJK and border migrants are given suitable compensation before election, these two steps would bolster the electoral chances of the Congress party in the coming Assembly elections. It is a fact that the Congress would gain if what the Congress command suggested is given an effect to.
The Congress high command - apart from asking the Congress Ministers to go tough and aggressive and fulfill the 2008 poll promises - has, according to sources, also directed them to look beyond their respective Assembly segments so that the party is able to win over the people of the state. It is important to note that most of the Congress Ministers didn't look beyond their own constituencies - a fact that made AICC general secretary and in-charge Jammu and Kashmir Ambika Soni and Ghulam Nabi Azad snub them a number of times. They have repeatedly urged the Congress Ministers not to function as constituency Ministers.
The Congress high command has woken up quite late. Assembly elections in the state are due towards the end of this year. Model code of conduct could be in force in the state anytime after August. In other words, there are only two months left for the Congress to implement its election manifesto. Two months is too short a period. But more than that, the Congress is not running the Government; it is just a part of the Government which is being led by Omar Abdullah. The wounded NC leadership will not help the desperate Congress implement its agenda. The NC leadership is extremely angry these days with the Congress because the latter at the time of making an announcement in Jammu on July 20 that it would field its candidates in all the 87 Assembly constituencies had also tore into Omar Abdullah. The top Congress leadership gave the people to understand that its candidates lost the Lok Sabha election because of the mis-governance of Omar Abdullah or his style of functioning. This announcement, coupled with a critique on Omar Abdullah, has offended Omar Abdullah and members of his coterie to the extent that they have unleashed a campaign against the Congress party. The NC would do its best to defeat all the moves of the Congress not just because it refused pre-poll alliance with it, but also because it has come to believe that the Congress would join the PDP camp after the elections to remain in power.
Undoubtedly, the Congress is striving to achieve the unachievable. It has already missed the bus. It would be interesting to watch the activities of the otherwise demoralized Congress during the next two-three months. But one thing is clear: The NC is a party that never accommodates others. |
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