MUHAMMAD MUKARAM
SRINAGAR: With Parliamentary elections just a year and few months away, crisis within J&K Pradesh Congress Committee are deepening with each passing day due to the ‘incompetence’ of incumbent State president G A Mir, who has failed to control factionalism within the party.
Reliable sources within Congress told STATE TIMES that after the recent membership drive, Mir has come under severe criticism from within the party for his ‘pick-n-choose’ policy.
“Some district and block presidents have openly revolted against Mir alleging that merit has not been given consideration while forming the District Congress Committees. More than a dozen senior State leaders have complained to the party High Command in Delhi and brought the dictatorial attitude of the State president in their notice,” they revealed.
Sources privy to the developments said that a large number of the Congress workers and leaders are against the style and functioning of Mir and this has been repeatedly told to the High Command in Delhi.
On October 24, when Congress had planned to hold a protest rally against braid-chopping incidents in the State, loyalists of new entrant in the party, Tariq Hamid Karra, sabotaged the meeting at the party headquarters in Srinagar. More than two dozen loyalists of Karra created a scene at the party headquarters forcing the president to skip the meeting.
“An internal war is going on between Mir and Karra, which has dented the chances of come-back for Congress in 2019 elections. Majority of the workers and leaders in the party are of the opinion that both Mir and Karra should be kept away from any major assignment in the Congress before the elections,” a senior party leader, wishing anonymity said. “To remain in circulation and limelight for political gains, Karra makes statements, which could damage the vote bank of Congress in Jammu region. His soft separatism politics has even put the party High Command into embarrassing position on day one itself when he termed army chief’s statement ‘politically’ motivated. For eight years Karra indulged in bickering within the PDP and his image of wrangler will harm the Congress. Karra is a political liability,” he added.
The leader claimed that the factionalism within the Congress was growing due to the incompetence of Mir and if corrective measures were not taken by the High Command soon, party could draw a blank again in 2019 Parliament elections in the State.
“I hope that new Congress President Rahul Gandhi will take corrective measures in the State unit of the party so that party regroups before the 2019 elections.
