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| Congress: Our Options ere Open | | Sonia’s talks with Azad, Soz inclusive, to meet PM today | |
Early Times Report
Jammu/New Delhi, Dec 29: As leaders in Jammu and Kashmir get jittery over an earlier confirmation of support from the Congress, the Congress president Sonia Gandhi late this evening elicited views of state leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Saif-ud-Din on extending support to either National Conference or the Peoples Democratic. The discussions, however, remained inconclusive.
Significantly, almost at the same time when Congress president Sonia Gandhi was holding discussions with Azad and Soz, party’s national spokesperson Manish Tiwari told reporters that all options were still open for the alliance. More significantly, he added, “Jammu and Kashmir is a complex state and we do not want to take a decision in haste”. Furthermore, Tiwari said, "there is an algebra to politics... and there is geometry to politics but there is also a philosophy to politics," while explaining the political scene in the state.
Reports meanwhile said that Gandhi tonight held inconclusive consultations with senior party leaders of Jammu and Kashmir on the prospects of forging a tie-up with National Conference for formation of government in the state where assembly polls produced a fractured mandate. Besides Azad and Soz, AICC general secretary in-charge of J and K Prithviraj Chavan and Congress president's political secretary Ahmed Patel also attended the hour-long meeting.
After the meeting, sources said a dominant section of the party favours a tie-up with NC with Omar Abdullah as the Chief Minister but the party is weighing terms and conditions before formalising the arrangement.
Gandhi sought the views of Azad and Soz ahead of her meeting with NC President Omar Abdullah tomorrow to discuss the alliance. Sources said Gandhi will hold consultations with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow before meeting Omar Abdullah.
All options are open for the party in J&K: Cong
"There is a consultation going on. It's a situation where there are constraints and variables. All options are open at this juncture," party spokesman Manish Tiwari told reporters in New Delhi.
"I am neither confirming nor denying A, B or C option... we have not closed any option. Closure of any option means a decision has been taken," he said while answering a query whether Congress has decided to tie up with National Conference (NC) or the option of an alliance with People's Democratic Party (PDP) was still open.
Arguing that "the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is complex," Tiwari said, "we are not going to take any decision in haste. We will talk to local leaders and a decision will be taken after consultation with all."
"There is an algebra to politics... and there is geometry to politics but there is also a philosophy to politics," he said while explaining the political scene in the state. "There are new situations in Jammu and Kashmir... all aspects are under consideration," he said.
The party, however, denied that it had anything to do over the choice of NC's chief ministerial candidate.
"Absolutely wrong. Congress does not cherry pick who should lead where. Congress never decides who would be the leader of the party, with whom we are going for an alliance," Tiwari said.
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