Move likely to further intensify infighting instead of bring unity within the party.
Gh Nabi Azad declines to accept new responsibility, Haji Abdul Rashid quits party
JAMMU, AUGUST 16: In a move that is bound to create more disenssions instead of forging unity within the warring factions, Congress high command on a Tuesday appointed Vikar Rasool Wani, a two time MLA from Banihal and former minister, as president of the party unit in Jammu and Kashmir.
Raman Bhalla, also a two time MLA from Gandhi Nagar in Jammu city and former minister, was retained as its working president, according to a list of new officer bears of PCC and its various committees issued by AICC general secretary K C Venugopal.
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has been made chairman of the party’s campaign committee in the UT, while senior party leader and former minister Tariq Hameed Karra from Kashmir will be its vice chairman and G M Saroori, an Azad loyalist, Convenor.Karra, however, has also been made chairman of the party’s Political Affairs Committee in the UT which has among others former union minister Prof Saifudfin Soz as its member.Prof Soz has been made chairman of the party’s maninfedto committee and senior advocate M K Bhardwaj it’s vice chairman.
However, the move is bound to step up infighting instead of forgoing a patch up between the pro and anti Azaad factions. It is also bound to widen the wedge between party’s Jammu and Kashmir based leaders, with latter likely to have a feeling of having been ignored by the party high command.
An indication about it came within hours after the issuance of the lists of new office bearers, tendering his resignation from the post of chairman in party’s campaign committee and Haji Abdul Rashid, a two time former MLA from Sopore resigning from party membership in protest against inadequate representation to Kashmir in the reconstituted PCC and its committees.
Both Vikar Rasool and Raman Bhalla have been former ministers and two time MLAs from Banihal and Gandhi Nagar assembly constituencies, respectively. It has also been the first time in political history of J&K that Congress has both its president and working president in the UT from Jammu province.
Earlier, the party had former minister G A Mir from Kashmir as president and Bhalla working president. Following open revolt by Azad loyalists, a number of whom had even quit their party positions in protest against the continuance of G A Mir as president, the latter had resigned from the party post early this month to pave way for reconstitution of the Pradesh Congress Committee.
Though Vikar Rasool is a known loyalist of Ghulam Nabi Azad, his appointment has come to the dislike of many within that camp, sources said. There are many people in Azad camp who were senior to Vikar Rasool, one of the Azad supporter said, adding that the lists of new office bearers mostly include junior people and those who have para dropped.
However, political observers see the reconstituted PCC as an attempt by Congress high command to have a patch up between both the warring party factions and infuse a new life in the organisation to take head on the BJP in Jammu province.
