Congress fumes as Omar ‘hijacks’ Delhi delegation

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 27

Anger is brewing among a section of Congress leaders against the idea of allowing former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to “hijack” the all-party delegation which visited New Delhi recently.

Congress leaders said there was a perception that by allowing Omar to lead the delegation, the party had missed the opportunity to emerge as a strong political force in the state.

Sources said during a meeting convened today by state Congress chief Ghulam Ahmed Mir to inform party leaders about the visit, some leaders questioned the decision to allow the National Conference leader to “hijack” the entire exercise.

“It appears that the Congress played second fiddle in the exercise and the former CM was given a free hand to take all decisions on behalf of all parties which were part of the delegation,” said a source quoting a former minister.

“The former minister argued that being the principal opposition party in the country, the Congress leadership should play a dominate role in take up the Kashmir unrest at the national level,” the source said.

Sources said another leader pointed to some statements given by Omar after the meetings, which according to him were not suitable for the Congress line on Kashmir. He said Omar’s statement from Srinagar on Pakistan had not gone well with Congress workers.

The sources said Mir, while defending the decision to let Omar head the delegation, said being a former CM, Omar was the senior most according to protocol and deserved to head the delegation.

“Among all of us, Omar was the senior most as per protocol so it was a unanimous decision to allow him to head the delegation,” said a source quoting Mir.

Mir made it clear that the only aim of the all-party delegation was to impress upon the Centre to take some concrete steps to restore sustainable peace in Kashmir. He said becoming a part of the delegation led by Omar did not mean that the Congress would subscribe to the NC stand on Kashmir.