J-K: Cong not to join council of ministers; NC rules out rift
New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday said it has decided not to join the council of ministers in the newly formed Jammu and Kashmir government as the party was "unhappy" that statehood was not restored to the Union territory.
In a statement, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Tariq Hameed Karra said that the Congress has strongly demanded from the Centre to restore statehood to J-K, besides Prime Minister Narendra Modi has time and again in public meetings promised the same.
"But, the statehood has not been restored to J-K. We are unhappy, therefore, we are not joining the ministry at the moment," he said. Karra, however, said the Congress would continue to fight for the restoration of statehood to J-K.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. Besides him five ministers -- Sakina Masood (Itoo), Javed Dar, Javed Rana, Surinder Choudhary, and Satish Sharma -- took the oath of office
The statement indicates rift between the National Conference (NC) and Congress alliance in the State. However, the NC leaders clarified that the alliance was intact.
Sources said the National Conference was holding discussions with the Congress explaining the limitations of governance in a Union Territory with a unicameral legislature, noting, that the State don’t have an upper house there by restricting the size of the government severely.