Omar chairs joint meeting of coalition partners; Cong says no rift with NC

STATE TIMES NEWS

JAMMU: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday chaired a joint meeting of legislators from National Conference and its allies here, ahead of the presentation of his government’s budget later this week.
Senior CPI(M) leader and MLA M Y Tarigami could not attend the meeting as he was indisposed, while the Congress was represented by its chief whip in the J&K Assembly, Nizam-ud-din Bhat who ruled out any rift with the NC.
However, Bhat said his party suggested forming a coordination committee to address any shortcoming.
All independent MLAs supporting the government were present at the meeting, which was convened to discuss the smooth functioning of the House. NC president Farooq Abdullah also attended the meeting.
CM Abdullah, who is the Leader of the House, is scheduled to present his government’s second budget in the assembly on February 6.
The 27-day budget session commenced here this morning with an address by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Congress leader Bhat said, “There is absolutely no strain in our relationship with the National Conference. The Congress authorised its representative to place the party’s views clearly, and that was done. In any alliance, there can be shortcomings, and these must be addressed in the interest of the people. There can be no compromise on that.”
He said the Congress and the NC are “natural allies” and committed to fighting together, stressing that given the impact of national-level politics on Jammu and Kashmir, there was a need to move forward in unity.
“Talking about improvement is not opposition. If we feel a step is not right, we will say so and seek correction,” he said, also defending the non-participation of other Congress legislators in the meeting.
Bhat said the J&K government should be allowed to function freely, and all necessary steps should be taken for restoration of statehood to end the dual rule in the Union Territory.
“There is a significant difference between the powers of the chief minister under dual control and those exercised by the Lok Bhavan…There are serious issues here- unemployment, electricity bills, development, disaster management, women’s empowerment, fight against communalized politics, privileges of the Assembly and its members, and security of common citizens, besides the statehood. All these issues make a common ground for us,” he said.
He said the objective of the alliance is the larger good- it is against communal politics and meant to counter the BJP’s agenda.
“No one is saying that the J&K government should have confrontation with Delhi but what is needed is a united approach on issues that affect the people. We must speak with one voice,” he said.
Explaining further, Bhat said whether it is governance, administrative decisions, political issues, the interests of common citizens, Delhi-related concerns, infrastructure, development, statehood, or the rights of the state- these are shared issues which require consultation.
“That is why we suggested forming a coordination committee to move forward thoughtfully,” he said.
A CPI(M) leader said Tarigami conveyed his unavailability for the meeting to the chief minister as he was unwell.
“He could not attend the first day of the budget session as well,” he said.