Congress general secretary and in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir Ambika Soni talks to The Hindu two days after the BJP abruptly pulled out of its alliance with the PDP. She rules out any possibility of forming an alliance government.
Will the Congress try to stitch an alliance in Jammu and Kashmir to provide stable governance in the State?
We hold that one must not form the government just to take power. There must be a reasonable chance to implement our economic and social agenda, like we had in the past when we were in coalition governments in the State. We always had a programme and manifesto to stand by. Clearly, we were voted out in 2014. With just 12 MLAs in the Assembly it is not our responsibility to talk about coalitions. As an opposition party we have been vigilant and articulate.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah has demanded that elections should be held at the earliest in the State. What is the Congress’s stand?
The Anantnag by-polls are pending for so long (since 2016), where is the question of holding Assembly elections? Farooq Abdullah won the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat with a turnout of 7% votes. These are not the elections we want. Under the UPA government even when there was a call for boycott, there was 71% voter turnout. During the by-poll under the UPA in Baramullah, which is a hotbed of terrorism, we saw 84% turnout. Every political party wants the democratic process to be put in place. But for that the government will have to bring in peace and calm, for people to vote.
The 2014 Assembly elections saw a deep divide emerge between the Jammu region and the Valley. Do you expect the voting pattern to change by the time the State faces another poll?
We don’t expect the BJP to change its colours or to stop playing divisive and communal politics. But we must remember that the BJP had to put its house in order. It had to reshuffle its ranks after the Kathua gang-rape incident. The same people who voted for the BJP listening to their jumlas are a disappointed lot. Apart from this the Congress did win in Chenab region. It won in Rajouri and Poonch. We got a seat in Kargil and both seats in Leh. It is not that kind of communal divide. Yes, it is true that we did not win many of our traditional seats in Jammu. The BJP has failed to fulfil a fraction of the promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his campaign speeches. But I don’t think people can be fooled time and again.
With the political situation in the State there is speculation of possible defections from the Congress and there are other rumours about PDP MLAs joining the Congress.
Most of our MLAs have been in the Assembly for the second or third time now. They are Congress men of long standing. In 2008, after the PDP withdrew support there was a certain period of uncertainty, but even then we did not see our leaders beyond a certain level switch sides. I can’t say about other parties but our ranks will stay intact.
Both the BJP and the PDP have been relatively soft on each other. Does it indicate that the divorce isn’t final?
It is difficult to say anything with certainty right now. It is possible that Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti did not know that the BJP was walking out on her. She came to know of it only when the cat was out of the bag. As days go by we will know what she meant by “muscular policy.” And we have to wait and watch what BJP president Amit Shah says on June 23 (Shyama Prasad Mookerjee’s death anniversary) in Kashmir. The BJP formed the government to fulfil its longing to rule the State. It has undone years of work done by the UPA government.
The Congress has been claiming that it expected the BJP-PDP alliance to break up. What were the signs?
The situation on the ground had been deteriorating. The agenda of governance was put on the backburner. Those who visited Jammu and Kashmir know that the BJP did not have a foot to stand on in the Valley. Under the UPA the houseboats were booked round the year. Now they are standing empty. Tourism which is the mainstay of the State was completely derailed. After Burhan Wani’s death we saw a rise in radicalisation among youth. There has to be compelling reasons for young women in school uniform to resort to stone-pelting They are now claiming that they broke the alliance for national interest. What happened to national interest all the while when they were running the government in the State through trial and error? They (BJP) can’t absolve themselves by dumping all the blame on Mehbooba Mufti.
