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| J&K Congress factional wrangle reaches Rahul | | |
ZAFAR CHOUDHARY
Jammu, July 21: As number of Congress leaders from Jammu and Kashmir grows in New Delhi –some on thanksgiving visit after becoming Ministers and others fanning factional strife –the tension in state unit of party today moved few notches up with dissidents taking the murky wrangle to AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi.
Meanwhile, in a related development, the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is also in Delhi, had a meeting with the Pradesh Congress Committee president Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz to discuss the latest development emerging out of internal strife within Congress.
A delegation of dissident Congress leaders had already, last week, met the Congress president Sonia Gandhi and now the issue has reached Rahul Gandhi. Sources said that Sonia had last week heard the complaints of J&K Congress leaders patiently but she did not give her mind to the dissident camp over what she plans to handle the situation.
Sources said that group of dissidents led by Choudhary Mohammad Aslam and staunch Ghulam Nabi Azad loyalist Abdul Ghani Vakil called on the AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi and urged him to consider reconstitution of the Pradesh Congress Committee. One of the Congress leaders who accompanied this delegation, told Early Times over phone from New Delhi that like Sonia, Rahul also did not reveal the assessment he obtained from discussions but assured to fix up the problems in JKPCC soon.
After speaking to a large section of Congress leaders camping in New Delhi, it emerged that the party high command was not taking any of the factions seriously. The party leadership in Delhi believes that the real fight is between two top Congress leaders from Jammu and Kashmir and the second and middle rung leaders were being used by them against each other. This impression is denying justice to many Congress leaders of state who are not aligned with any of the two leaders.
Meanwhile, Soz and Omar are reported to have had a detailed meeting in New Delhi today during which the two leaders had a threadbare discussion on focussing on issues which can yield more relief to the people of the state.
The meeting comes a day after Omar had a meeting with Congress President Sonia Gandhi to discuss the functioning of National Conference-Congress coalition in the state. It is pertinent to mention here that during his Delhi visit, Omar skipped a meeting with the former J&K Chief Minister and Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Relations between Soz and Omar were also not keeping well. Controversy broke out when Soz sidestepped Chief Minister office's prerogative and announced portfolios of Congress ministers at a press conference on July 11, prompting Omar to write a strong letter to the Congress President.
Today the two leaders agreed to make the coordination between the two parties more effective so that the coalition's resolve to strengthen good governance in the state was fulfilled. The two leaders discussed measures to strengthen and expand district development boards and make them more purposeful and representative.
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