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| Congress leaders move Sonia’s court as factionalism deepens | | |
MUNISH GUPTA
Jammu, Nov 18: Fearing explicit exploitation by big ruling brother National Conference, a worried lot of alliance partner Congress has pleaded before the President Sonia Gandhi seeking her to cast the whip and reign in factionalism in state unit of party which is already eating into vitals of the organization.
Many senior leaders in Jammu and Kashmir continue to be worried over the infighting within the organisation which seems to have assumed serious dimensions. A number of congress ministers today admitted that the tussle between the duissidents and the loyalists in the congress could prove harmful to the party in the long run.
These ministers, including RS Chib, Minister for Technical and Medical Education, and Raman Bhalla, Revenue and Relief Minister, said that infighting in the congress could be exploited by the National Conference and the PDP. They said that during the last five years number of congress leaders had either joined the PDP or the National Conference after they felt disappointed with the tussle between the dissidents and the loyalists.
Inside reports said that a deputation of senior leaders, including some ministers, may visit Delhi shortly and persuade the party high command to intervene effectively so that the differences between the loyalists and the dissidents were ironed out. However, majority of the party leaders blame both Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister for Health, and PCC Chief, Saif-ud-Din Soz, for being responsible for the current infighting. They said that the two have been trying to outwit each other.While Soz is trying to sideline Azad as far as the functioning of the Pradesh congress committee was concerned,Azad was making a determined bid to retain hold on the organisation.
Anti-Azad lobby has accused Azad of weakening the congress organisation in Jammu and Kashmir by providing patronage to the dissidents and by trying to create problems for the successive PCC Presidents. They said right from 90's Azad has played a dubious role vis-a-vis the congress in Jammu and Kashmir. They alleged that Azad had been instrumental in patronising dissidents who had raised a banner of revolt first against Ghulam Rasool Kar, then against Mohammad Shafi Qureshi and later to Peerxada Mohammad Syed and Choudhary Mohammad Aslam. It was strange that both Peerzada and Choudhary Aslam are in the Azad led camp at present. Azad would engineer revolt against those PCC Presidents who refused to play a second fiddle to him(Azad).
Reports said that Azad had been able to create problms for the PCC Presidents because of being close to the AICC chiefs. For several years he remained General secretary in the AICC which had given him sufficient powers to interfere in the working of the Pradesh Congress committees. He has shown his mettle as a good organiser and having helped the party to win various elections in a number of states he had gone close to first Mrs Indira Gandhi and later to Ms Sonia Gandhi. This proximity with the seat of power in Delhi allowed him a chance to dictate terms to the congress leaders in Jammu and Kashmir.
However, this time the Congress high command has supported Soz to the extent that he has been given a free hand in organising the party in Jammu and Kashmir for which he has been asked to spend more time in the state which he has been doing. Reports had indicated that Azad had been told in clear terms to keep off the congress activities in Jammu and Kashmir and instead of paying frequent visits to the state he should spend more time in Delhi. And for a couple of months Azad obeyed these instructions and had avoided visiting Jammu and Kashmir. But during the last three weeks he has been frequenting between Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi which is one of the reasons that the dissidents have started locking horns with the loyalists. Congress ministers suggested that Ms Sonia Gandhi should herself intervene and forge unity between the dissidents and the loyalists.
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