No Congress at NC Table: Congress Jittery Before Rajya Sabha Battle

New Delhi: Cracks widened in Jammu and Kashmir’s ruling alliance on Wednesday as Congress boycotted a key strategy meeting convened by the National Conference (NC) to prepare for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and the autumn session of the Legislative Assembly.

After Congress skipped the meet, NC Vice President and sitting Chief Minister Omar Abdullah addressed reporters. 

"Congress held their meeting today at their party headquarters and they have already stated that they will not support the BJP. Congress and our party are different. They have to wait for a signal from their high command. On their high command’s direction, Congress left the Nagrota seat for the NC," Omar said.

The meeting, attended by NC leaders, CPI(M)'s Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami and others, was aimed at forging a joint strategy for the legislative calendar and the Rajya Sabha polls- the first in 10 years.  

"This election will be different, as Rajya Sabha elections are being held after ten years. We met to finalize our strategy,"Abdullah added.

NC that has also fielded Shami Oberoi as its Rajya Sabha candidate. As per Omar, Oberoi met PDP President Mehbooba Mufti today, appealing for support on behalf of the party. This follows an earlier conversation between NC President Farooq Abdullah and Mufti.

"Mufti assured she would consult her party colleagues and take a decision, but PDP is yet to make any formal announcement," said Omar.

Dismissing allegations of secret deals with the BJP, Abdullah targeted Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma. 

"We never offered anything to the BJP. We don’t operate like them, working behind the scenes. Had we made any offer, it would have been done openly, before everyone," he said. 

On Union Minister Giriraj Singh's controversial remarks against Muslims, Abdullah called it "unfortunate." 

"During elections, such statements are common when they have no real work to show the people. Their ground situation is weak, so they try to create communal tension and target Muslims. This has become routine for such leaders, who later claim to represent every religion and every citizen. Prime Minister should take action against ministers who make these statements," said Omar Abdullah.

Pertinently, the rift between NC and Congress has been widening over the past two weeks, particularly after NC denied Congress a safe seat in the Rajya Sabha elections. Instead, NC offered a riskier seat, which Congress declined to contest.  NC also proposed the Nagrota Assembly seat to Congress, which was similarly rejected.