Early Times Report
Srinagar, June 29: A day after the senior National Conference leaders distanced themselves from the statement issued by the party on their behalf against Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Lone; working president NC Omar Abdullah has taken serious note of the issue.
NC sources divulged that the party's top brass has sought explanation from leaders about how any statement without the consent of leaders has been issued.
"A meeting over the issue is being held at the residence of the former chief minister Omar Abdullah here at 4 P.M on Tuesday wherein recent incidents shall be discussed at threadbare including the one in which some senior leaders who were quoted in the statement against Sajad Lone distanced themselves from such a rant, saying there have no knowledge when such a handout has been issued," they said.
"Omar Abdullah has telephoned all the senior NC leaders and has asked them to meet at his residence so that the issue could be sorted out that what went wrong and where," sources said.
Pertinently, the senior NC leaders including Mohammad Shafi Uri, Shareef-ud-Din Shariq, Mir Saif-ullah and Qaiser Jamsheed Lone said today that they had not issued any statement against Lone.
They said the NC spokesman was compelled by two party leaders to issue the statement against Lone.
A joint statement issued by the NC media cell attributed to senior leaders Chaudhary Mohammad Ramzan, Mir Saifullah, Mohammad Shafi Uri, Mohammad Akbar Lone, Qiaser Jamshed Lone, Kafil-ur-Rehman and Nasir Khan, had lashed out at Lone for his defense of RSS ploys and secret plans in Kashmir and said it is in stark contrast to what Sajad Lone, his family and his party had been saying during the two decade long turmoil in Kashmir.
However, Shafi Uri, Shariq, Saifullah and Qaisar Jamsheed distanced themselves from the statement, saying they have no knowledge about when the statement was issued on their behalf.
Senior NC leader and MLA Sonwari Mohammad Akbar Lone had on Saturday also distanced himself from the statement. "We were surprised after reading the statement attributed to them by the media cell of National Conference," the NC leaders said.
Mohammad Shafi Uri said that the NC spokesman was compelled by some leaders within the party to issue such a statement wherein Sajad Lone was castigated.
"We can have differences with any person politically but targeting someone personally is condemnable and uncalled for. It was unfortunate indeed to attribute a statement to senior NC leaders wherein it was said Sajad is the product of secret agencies," Uri said.
He added that already it has been decided during the party's core group meet that no leader except the president, general secretary and spokesman can issue the statements on behalf of the party and the recent statement contradicts the very own set of rules formulated within the National Conference.
Former parliament member from north Kashmir Shareef-ud-din Shariq also condemned the statement and distanced himself from the same.
MLC Qaiser Jamshed Lone and former law minister Mir Saif-ulllah while said too distanced themselves from the statement issued earlier on their behalf, saying they have no information when the statement of such a nature has been issued by the NC headquarters. |
