news details |
|
|
| Cong infighting out in open: Vikar Rasool targets Karra, questions his political past | | Party’s interests were sacrificed for 2 seats: Vikar Rasool intensifies attack on PCC leadership | |  Early Times Report
Jammu, May 22: The deepening factional divide within the Jammu and Kashmir Congress came into full public view on Friday as senior Congress leader and Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Vikar Rasool Wani launched a blistering attack on Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Tariq Hamid Karra, questioning his political credentials, his past political positions, and his role in shaping the party's strategy during the 2024 Assembly elections.
The remarks, made at a public gathering organised by former Deputy Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Tara Chand in Khour, are being seen as one of the strongest attacks yet by a senior Congress functionary against the incumbent PCC leadership. The development has further exposed the growing fault lines within the party, which has been grappling with internal dissent ever since the Assembly election results and subsequent organisational appointments.
Without naming Karra directly, Wani made a series of pointed remarks that left little doubt about the target of his criticism.
“We have to go through the previous records of those who are wearing yellow turbans, and Gandhi caps these days,” Wani said, apparently referring to Karra's political journey in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before joining the Congress.
In an apparent attempt to remind party workers of Karra's political past, Wani alleged that some leaders currently occupying influential positions in the party had earlier advocated policies that were inconsistent with the Congress' nationalist ideology.
“They are the same people who had moved resolutions in the Legislative Assembly of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir seeking the introduction of Pakistani currency alongside Indian currency,” Wani alleged.
He further accused such leaders of benefiting from the land belonging to displaced Kashmiri Pandits and questioned their moral authority to lead the party.
“The same people encroached upon hundreds of kanals of land belonging to displaced Kashmiri Pandits and today claim ownership of properties worth nearly Rs 150 crore,” he alleged.
Wani's criticism, however, went beyond personal allegations and focused heavily on the Congress party's electoral strategy during the 2024 Assembly elections.
Taking aim at the Congress-National Conference alliance, he alleged that the party's long-term political interests were compromised to accommodate the ambitions of a few leaders.
“For the sake of just two seats, the interests of the Congress party were bartered away,” he said.
The former PCC president argued that Congress could have emerged as a much stronger political f “The same people encroached upon hundreds of kanals of land belonging to displaced Kashmiri Pandits and today claim ownership of properties worth nearly Rs 150 crore”
“Had the Congress not entered into an alliance with the National Conference, there would have been a Congress government in Jammu and Kashmir. But for the sake of two seats, the party surrendered its political space,” he said.
In another indirect swipe at Karra, Wani suggested that some Congress leaders owed their electoral success entirely to the support extended by the National Conference in the Kashmir Valley.
“Had the National Conference not supported them, they would have struggled even to retain their deposits,” he remarked.
The venue and timing of Wani's remarks are being viewed as politically significant. The meeting was organised by former Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, who has emerged as one of the prominent faces of the dissident camp within the Jammu and Kashmir Congress.
Over the past several months, several senior leaders have openly expressed dissatisfaction with the functioning of the PCC leadership, accusing it of sidelining experienced party workers and concentrating decision-making within a small group.
The dissident camp has repeatedly demanded greater consultation in organisational matters and a stronger focus on rebuilding the party's base in the Jammu region, where Congress leaders believe the party lost substantial political ground in recent years.
The latest public exchange is likely to raise concerns within the Congress high command, which has been attempting to maintain unity in the Union Territory at a time when the party is seeking to strengthen its position against both the BJP and regional parties.
Political observers note that the open criticism of the PCC president by a member of the Congress Working Committee reflects the depth of internal divisions within the organisation. Such public sparring could potentially weaken the party's efforts to present a united front ahead of future electoral battles.
The controversy comes amid growing speculation that the party leadership may soon be forced to intervene to contain the widening rift between rival factions.
The latest attack by Vikar Rasool Wani signals that the struggle for influence within the Jammu and Kashmir Congress is far from over. With rival camps increasingly taking their differences to public platforms, the party appears headed for a prolonged internal confrontation.
As the war of words intensifies, the challenge before the Congress leadership will be to prevent factional rivalries from overshadowing its political agenda and further eroding its organisational strength in the Union Territory. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
