Srinagar, Sep 20: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee President Tariq Hameed Karra on Sunday said the party’s alliance with the National Conference would not prevent it from raising people’s concerns in the Legislative Assembly, asserting that genuine public issues would be taken up irrespective of the political equations.
Karra was speaking to reporters after a meeting of Congress legislators in Srinagar ahead of the Autumn session of the Assembly, which begins on Monday.
“We are in alliance with the National Conference, but that does not mean we will not raise public issues. We will take up genuine concerns and ensure they are expedited,” Karra said.
He said the purpose of the Assembly was to raise questions and ensure that issues concerning the people were addressed at the earliest, irrespective of whether they were raised by members of the ruling party or the Opposition.
“The purpose of the Assembly is that work should be done as soon as possible. For that, everyone raises questions, whether it is from the ruling party or the opposition party,” Karra said.
He said the Congress legislature party meeting was held to discuss the upcoming Assembly session and the issues to be taken up by its members.
About the recent differences between the Congress and National Conference over issues including VandeMataram and the UPI, Karra said the differences should be viewed in the broader context of the alliance between the two parties.
“You see it from a very myopic view. We are in an alliance and we are on a principled stand. We took that alliance as a principled stand, keeping in mind the larger picture,” he said.
Karra said that the alliance would not prevent Congress from raising issues concerning the public or pursuing legitimate demands.
“Being in an alliance does not mean that we will not raise people’s issues. Being in an alliance does not mean that we will not talk about people’s legitimate demands. So there is no connection between that and this,” he said.
His remarks came a day before the Assembly session begins, with the Opposition preparing to raise issues including unemployment, power tariffs, reservation, public services and governance.
The National Conference also held a meeting of its legislators on Sunday under the chairmanship of party president Farooq Abdullah.
Congress legislators, the CPI(M) representative and Independent MLAs supporting the government attended the meeting, where discussions were held on the issues to be raised during the session.
The seven-sitting Autumn session will begin on September 21 and continue until September 30.
The opening sitting will include obituary references to former ministers Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, Dharam Paul and Ghulam Hassan Khan, followed by Question Hour.
