Sanjay Pandita
Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 27: Amid reports of a cabinet reshuffle, the Congress has flatly refused to join Omar Abdullah government in Jammu and Kashmir — despite being the ruling National Conference's coalition partner.
The party has made its position unambiguous: no cabinet berth until statehood is restored and the constitutional rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir are returned in full.
The decision hands Omar Abdullah a smoother path for his upcoming cabinet expansion on one hand, but on the other, it exposes the fault lines within the coalition and sharpens the pressure over the long-pending statehood issue.
The timing is pointed. It comes just as the Omar government prepares to expand its council of ministers, with three new faces expected to be inducted. The Chief Minister's office had reportedly offered Congress a single ministerial slot — a move that fuelled speculation the party, sitting out of government for nearly two years, might finally soften its stance. But by evening, Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Hameed Karra had shut the door on all such speculation.
Karra categorically stated that the Congress stand has been consistent from the start.
“The party will not join the government until statehood is restored and the constitutional rights of Jammu and Kashmir's people are reinstated”, Karra said and equally clear that this is not a rupture with the National Conference — Congress stands firmly with its ally and will back it against the BJP whenever needed. But solidarity, Congress stands firmly with NC and will back it against the BJP whenever needed.”
That single line captures the real complexity of this alliance: Congress wants influence without office — pressure politics from outside the cabinet, not a seat at the table. The National Conference, meanwhile, has been pushing consistently to bring Congress into government. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary reiterated that Congress remains a coalition partner and that its entry into the cabinet would only strengthen the government — though he left the final call to the party itself.
The roots of this refusal go back nearly two years, to October 2024, when Omar Abdullah was first sworn in as Chief Minister. Congress had reportedly sought two cabinet berths at the time, but no agreement was reached. Since then, the party has stayed out of government altogether, pending statehood restoration — a stand it later sharpened with its "Hamari Riyasat, Hamara Haq" (Our State, Our Right) campaign, a movement that has repeatedly put the National Conference leadership on the back foot and widened the visible cracks between the two allies.
Sources within the party suggest the demand runs deeper than a single ministerial post. Congress is understood to be seeking at least two cabinet berths along with the post of Deputy Speaker or Deputy Chief Minister. The party is also pushing for a coordination committee among coalition partners, to formally ensure its voice in government decision-making. None of these demands have found agreement with the National Conference so far. |