Srinagar, Oct 23: The Congress on Thursday declared full support for the National Conference in Friday\u2019s Rajya Sabha elections, describing the decision as a \u201cprincipled step\u201d to prevent the Bharatiya Janata Party from gaining ground.<\/p>\n
Addressing a press briefing, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee President Tariq Hameed Karra as per Kashmir News Observer\u2014(KNO) said the decision was taken after detailed consultations with the party\u2019s central leadership and internal deliberations over the past two days.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have taken this stand after considering the sensitivities of our region and our identity as a secular, democratic force,\u201d Karra said. \u201cWe have chosen to set aside our differences with the National Conference to uphold the larger values we represent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karra said that while the Congress had earlier expressed displeasure over NC\u2019s approach to seat-sharing within the alliance, the party ultimately decided to \u201crise above political friction\u201d and prioritise the broader national challenge of countering the BJP.<\/p>\n
\u201cRajya Sabha elections this time have posed a moral test. We want the NC to stay united against any external pressure, and we extend our support for that cause,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Stating that the Congress\u2019s fight was not limited to Jammu and Kashmir, Karra said the decision reflected the party\u2019s national commitment to defending India\u2019s secular ethos. \u201cOur strength may not be in numbers, but it lies in standing for what is right. We are guided by moral uprightness, not expediency,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Karra said that all six Congress legislators participated in the discussions and unanimously backed the move. \u201cA formal whip has been issued to our MLAs to vote for the National Conference candidates in the Rajya Sabha elections,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He also praised NC candidate Shammi Oberoi for his positive role in maintaining dialogue between the two parties. \u201cMr. Shammi Oberoi\u2019s approach helped turn negotiations into mutual understanding and differences into dialogue,\u201d Karra said, adding that two formal communications addressed to NC President Dr. Farooq Abdullah would soon be made public.<\/p>\n
Karra said the decision should be viewed as part of a larger political effort to safeguard Jammu and Kashmir\u2019s plural character. \u201cWe ignored the past treatment from our ally for the greater cause of unity and the collective good of the people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
With Congress\u2019s six votes secured, the NC-led alliance now appears poised to comfortably win three of the four Upper House seats when the voting takes place on Friday. (KNO)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Srinagar, Oct 23: The Congress on Thursday declared full support for the National Conference in Friday\u2019s Rajya Sabha elections, describing the decision as a \u201cprincipled step\u201d to prevent the Bharatiya Janata Party from gaining ground. Addressing a press briefing, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee President Tariq Hameed Karra as per Kashmir News Observer\u2014(KNO) said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1937,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-news","category-kt-front"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1936"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1936\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1938,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1936\/revisions\/1938"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}