For Congress, the special status of Jammu and Kashmir or the restoration of Article 370 no longer holds any meaning. The main agenda of Congress now is only the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. This was reiterated once again on Thursday by state Congress chief Tariq Hameed Kara. He said that without the support of Congress, without the efforts of Congress, no one can put pressure on the central government to give statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. If we look at the Parliament, the number of Congress and its allies is 233. The dual governance system in Jammu and Kashmir is extremely dangerous not only for democracy but also for Jammu and Kashmir. Talking to journalists here today, Kara said that on behalf of the state Congress and the people of Jammu and Kashmir, we thank our leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Board President Sonia Gandhi and the top leadership of Congress including Rahul Gandhi for writing a letter to the Prime Minister to give statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. I have understood the sentiments of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, understood the campaign ‘Hamari Riyasat-Hamara Haq’ run by the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress to get the status of a state to Jammu and Kashmir, and have written this letter. They have helped our campaign reach its goal. This is a historic letter written at a historic time.
He said that it was decided in a meeting in Delhi on July 15 under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi that promises and rhetoric have been made in the name of giving the status of a state to Jammu and Kashmir, so the Congress, along with its alliance partners, should put this matter before the Prime Minister that there should not be any further delay in this. That is why this letter has been written.
Kara said that the Congress will raise this issue in Parliament with full force, because the dual governance system in Jammu and Kashmir is not in anyone’s interest. He mentioned the alleged misbehavior with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on July 14 and said that this is extremely unfortunate and shameful. Selected people should disrespect elected representatives. This is the result of dual governance. Therefore, Jammu and Kashmir should get the status of a state soon. Tariq Hameed Karra said that no matter what anyone says, we are not bothered by it. The State Congress Committee itself has raised the demand for restoration of statehood in the right manner by running the ‘Hamari Riyasat-Hamara Haq’ campaign everywhere in Jammu and Kashmir.