SRINAGAR: Congress leaders in Jammu and Kashmir Sunday expressed resentment that senior National Conference (NC) leader Mustafa Kamal had taken on an “anti-Congress posture” during a recent convention of his party in Srinagar.
“Senior party leaders, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ambika Soni were told to ask the NC leadership to rein in Kamal and prevent him from issuing statements targeting the Congress,” party sources told IANS.
The Congress is a coalition partner in the National Conference-led government in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Party leaders are voicing concern against Kamal’s unbridled tirade. And the Congress leaders making these noises belong both to the Valley and the Jammu region,” the sources said.
Kamal is additional general secretary of the NC.
A day’s convention of Congress workers was held in Srinagar Sunday. Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and senior Congress leader Ambika Soni participated in it.
In addition to expressing concern over the statements issued by Mustafa Kamal, many Congress leaders also contended that the NC was running the state government in a manner detrimental to the interests of the Congress, the sources said.
These developments come a day after Ghulam Nabi Azad said the issue of future alliance either with the NC or the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) would be decided after the 2014 state assembly elections.
Azad’s statement is being interpreted as a clear ruling out of any pre-poll alliance with the NC.
Addressing party workers at the convention, both Azad and Soni asked the state leaders and workers to put up a united front.
Sources said the central leaders also expressed concern over incidents of growing factionalism within the state unit of the party, and made it clear that any violation of party discipline would not be tolerated.
The Congress leaders advised party workers to create awareness among the people of the state about important steps taken by the United Progressive Alliance government at the centre like the food security act, the land acquisition bill and the major development works undertaken.
(IANS)
