Cong denies rift between Omar and Rahul
The Congress today said there was no rift between All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Rahul Gandhi and Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over the recent killing of two Sarpanchs in Jammu & Kashmir. Earlier in the day, an angry Abdullah had lashed out at the media on twitter for raking up an “imaginary battle with Rahul (Gandhi)”. Meanwhile, Youth Congress members in the state today held a rally demanding that Abdullah resign if he was not able to empower the Panchayat leaders in the state.
Dismissing all talks of a tiff between the Congress scion and Abdullah, Law Minister Salman Khurshid said: “Congress President Sonia Gandhi as well as Rahul Gandhi have a very strong commitment towards the rights of Panchayats. This is a commitment that we have made to the whole country, and they want it to be implemented across the country without any exception.”
J & K Youth Congress Chief Shahnawaz Choudhary told reporters during a protest rally: “Omar Abdullah should resign. He should either resign, leave the government or empower panchayats and provide security to the sarpanches.”
Abdullah, who has been accused of inept handling of the situation, today tweeted; “Have to love the media’s priorities when my imaginary battle with Rahul is more important than what the President says in Kashmir.”
The gunning down of ‘Sarpanches’ had lead to mass resignations by Panchayat heads. This had generated a fresh controversy for the Omar government pitting him against Gandhi. At the Congress Working Committee meeting on Tuesday, Gandhi had said that it was a “serious matter and needed to be look into”.
The Congress and the National Conference have a coalition government in the state.
Aggrieved by the inability of the state government to protect them, several sarpanches have made it to the capital to take up the issue with Gandhi.The Sarpanches who met Gandhi urged him to ensure secure working conditions for panchayat members. Gandhi told them that he will visit the state soon and take up the issue.
The sarpanches are also seeking an appointment with Panchayati Raj.minister K C Singh Deo.
During his just-concluded two-day tour of Jharkhand, Gandhi said he would fight for empowerment of rural bodies.