By IANS,
Jammu: The Congress Thursday attacked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for behaving in an “arbitrary manner” and not consulting the party, which is its alliance partner in the state.
State Congress chief Saif-ud-Din Soz told media on his arrival in Jammu Thursday that “Omar is behaving in an arbitrary manner, discarding the process of consultation with the Congress”.
“Congress is not a B team. It’s an equal partner in the coalition government and it should be consulted on all matters.”
Soz was speaking in the wake of the chief minister’s announcement about a proposal for revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from certain areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
The other Congress faction, led by union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, asked NC president Farooq Abdullah to “restrain party leader (and his brother) Sheikh Mustafa Kamal from speaking against the armed forces”.
The Azad loyalists have taken exception to the purported remarks of NC’s additional general secretary Sheikh Mustafa Kamal blaming the army for the terror attacks Tuesday in Kashmir. They have asked NC president Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to restrain senior NC leader Mustafa Kamal from issuing such statements “which are detrimental to national interest and are aimed at weakening the coalition”.
These leaders, including former ministers and MPs Abdul Gani Vakil, Janak Raj Gupta and Gharu Ram, accused Kamal of “issuing cheap statements with a view to defaming the armed forces”.
The leaders were of the opinion that the armed forces have done a commendable job in fighting insurgency and restoring normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir.