Congress not to join Omar’s ministry: Karra

Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Tariq Hamid Karra said that the party will not join the Union Territory’s Council of Ministers until statehood of J&K is restored, asserting that it would not compromise its principled stand for a Cabinet berth.

Karra said the Congress had been campaigning for the restoration of statehood for the past two years, even before the formation of the elected government in Jammu and Kashmir, and remained firm on its position.

“We have a movement going on—not just today, but for the last two years, ever since the government was formed, and even before that—that until the statehood status of Jammu and Kashmir is restored as a state, we will not become part of the Cabinet. Even now, the entire Congress party stands firm on this,” he said.

He said the party had organised several protests and programmes to press for the restoration of statehood, including ‘Srinagar Chalo’, ‘Jammu Chalo’ and ‘Delhi Chalo’ demonstrations.

The Congress had also held hunger strikes across all 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir and organised programmes at the district level, Karra said, adding that the party’s campaign had received acknowledgment from its central leadership.