When Congress president Sonia Gandhi arrives on a day-long visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, it will be with a strong message against dissidence in the State unit of the party.
She has reportedly ignored Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand's request to inaugurate a state-of-the-art shopping mall here.
Local newspapers have been carrying reports that Ms. Gandhi would inaugurate the Sangarmal in the heart of the city and also lay the foundation for a colony meant for dwellers of the Dal Lake.
Sources in the Housing and Urban Development Ministry, headed by Mr. Chand, said Mr. Chand had not taken Saifuddin Soz, president of the Pradesh Congress Committee, on board in finalising the programme, as he is aligned with another faction in the PCC patronised by a Union Minister in the UPA government.
Mr. Chand, the sources said, gave wide publicity to the inauguration of the mall, constructed by the Srinagar Development Authority, which comes under his Ministry. It was also announced that Ms. Gandhi would lay the foundation stone for a multi-crore colony for the Dal Lake dwellers in Rakh Arath, on the outskirts of the city.
However, sources told The Hindu that both programmes are not on Ms. Gandhi's itinerary when she arrives here on May 29. Instead, she will address representatives of political parties and lake-dwellers at the S.K. International Conference Centre.
Sources said the decision has jolted the faction led by Mr. Chand. The message to discourage dissidence became clear on Tuesday when Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office and Congress in-charge for Jammu and Kashmir, Prithviraj Chauhan, air dashed to Srinagar to finalise the arrangements of Ms. Gandhi's visit with Professor Soz.
Professor Soz confirmed that Ms. Gandhi was speaking on the Dal Lake conservation. “She is very much concerned about its conservation and has been talking about it in the past as well…I don't know anything about the inauguration,” he said.
Official sources confirmed that the mall inauguration programme had been put off as it was not cleared by her office.
Before arriving in Srinagar, Ms. Gandhi will inaugurate a multi-crore cultural complex constructed by the Gurjar Desh Charitable Trust in Jammu, the first of its kind there. She will also have lunch with party leaders and may join Kashmir-based party leaders for high tea here.
