NEW DELHI: Top Congress leaders discussed the party’s preparedness for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls on Thursday, with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge urging the leaders from the Union Territory to raise the voice of people and stay among them.
During the meeting with Congress leaders from Jammu and Kashmir, Kharge said the tall claims of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre that peace and normalcy have returned in the Union Territory stand exposed with recent terror attacks and asserted that the people in the region are once again looking at the Congress to return to power.
“The people of Jammu and Kashmir are again looking towards the Congress. They want a welfare government and a sensitive government, which will work to alleviate their suffering and look towards the future.
“I would like all of us to work hard to fulfil the aspirations of the people, constantly raise the voice of the people, stay among the people. We spoke with the leaders of the Jammu Kashmir Congress on these very topics today,” the Congress chief said in a post in Hindi on X.
“The recent terrorist attacks have completely exposed the BJP’s tall talk and empty claims about the return of peace and normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.
Kharge claimed that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had got the panchayat polls conducted in Jammu and Kashmir. “We laid railway lines and ran trains there for the first time. We built big dams. We started schemes called ‘Himayat’ and ‘Udaan’ for skill development of youngsters. Thousands of youngsters got employment due to these schemes,” he said.
The Congress president had convened the meeting of all leaders from Jammu and Kashmir to assess the party’s preparedness for the Assembly polls and to evolve a strategy to strengthen the organisation in the Union Territory.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary K C Venugopal were present during the deliberations.
The Congress leadership has been holding meetings with state leaders well in advance after being buoyed by the party’s performance in the recently-held Lok Sabha polls.
Assembly polls in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand are slated later this year.
The tenure of the Maharashtra Assembly ends on November 26, while that of the Haryana Assembly ends on November 3. The tenure of the Jharkhand Assembly ends on January 5, 2025.
The Supreme Court has said the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election should be held before September 30.
