Restoring J&K’s statehood first priority, says Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said reservation cannot be scrapped till there was untouchability and lack of social justice in the country.

Kharge, who was speaking at a press conference in Jammu, said: “Reservation cannot be scrapped until there is casteism in the Hindu religion. Until there is untouchability and lack of social justice, reservation will continue. It will continue till my death. I will tell my children to fight for it”.

Responding to a question about Gandhi’s remark on reservation, Kharge said: “He did not say that, and he will never say so. We won’t even allow him (to say anything like this).” While addressing students at Georgetown University in the US, Gandhi mentioned that the Congress might consider ending reservations when India becomes a truly fair society, but added that this was not the case at present.

On a question whether the Congress supports National Conference’s manifesto on bringing back Article 370, Kharge said: “You know our agenda. You should go through our working committee resolutions (on Article 370). What we have said, we will go by that. Our first priority is to restore statehood. Other things later.”

The Congress president cautioned the people of J&K against the “deceitful tactics” of the BJP, accusing the ruling party of diverting attention from their failure to address the real issues plaguing the region.

Kharge criticised the BJP for exploiting distractions, especially citing Pakistan’s Defence Minister’s comments on Article 370 as a smokescreen to conceal their ineffectiveness in governance.

“Except for promises, the BJP did nothing for the people of J&K in the past 10 years. Now during elections, the BJP is shamelessly trying to rake up irrelevant issues to hide its failures”, Kharge said.

Defending his party’s decision to form a pre-poll alliance with the NC, he emphasised that the coalition formed to oppose the BJP was a necessity, not out of compulsion or surrender.

“This alliance was vital to defeat the BJP and protect the country’s integrity from their misdeeds, particularly in J&K,” he said.

He accused the BJP of delaying the restoration of statehood despite having the power to do so. He pointed out that the ruling party allowed outsiders to dominate key sectors such as mining and liquor contracts.

Kharge also assured the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits, constitutional rights for OBCs, caste-based census and safeguarding land and job rights for the people of J&K.