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| Will support only secular party: Azad | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
Jammu, Dec 28: Crediting the Amarnath land row for rise of resurgence of BJP in Jammu region and strengthening of Peoples Democratic Party in Kashmir Valley, the former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today chose to keep his cards close to his chest as to which party Congress will support in the formation of a new government in Jammu and Kashmir saying it will prefer a party having secular and nationalist credentials.
"We will prefer to support a party having secular and nationalist credentials and can take forward the goals of ensuring peace and development in this border state," he said here after the results of the assembly elections were announced. National Conference emerged as the single largest party with 28 seats, followed by PDP with 21 and Congress 17.
On whether Congress would prefer an alliance with NC or PDP, Azad said the issue will be discussed in detail by the party high command before taking any decision. If a situation arose in which Congress had to choose PDP, Azad said previous experiences with the party "cannot be ignored". He asserted that no political party can form a government in the state without Congress' support.
"The Congress is saddled in a position where it can play a major role in formation of the new government," he said. Admitting some lapses in the party leading to the defeat of its candidates, he attributed the reverses to aggressive campaign by rival parties on regional and religious issues.
Azad hit out at the BJP, saying the "rise" of the saffron party was a worrying sign in the state. "It does worry me. These trends are the outcome of unfortunate things (that) happened in July and August. The question is that secularism is getting shrunk at the cost of development," Azad said adding that it should be a "worry for each and every Indian".
On the Amarnath land row, Azad said it was never a win-win situation for the Congress. "If we had withdrawn (the order of land allotment) one region would have erupted and if we had not the other region would have.
"It is difficult to take a decision keeping all the three regions in mind," Azad, who was the Chief Minister when the row broke out this year, said. |
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