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| Cong ‘ceasefire’ holds, but dissidents keep distance from party functions | | | Sanjay Pandita
Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 30: Nearly a month after the Congress high command brokered a truce between the two rival factions of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC), the apparent ceasefire appears to have brought a halt to parallel activities, but not yet ended the dissidents’ boycott of official party programmes.
The dissident camp, headed by former JKPCC president and ex-minister Vikar Rasool Wani, has refrained from organising parallel programmes following the intervention of the Congress high command. However, leaders associated with the group have largely continued to maintain their distance from official functions organised by the JKPCC leadership headed by Tariq Hamid Karra.
The development suggests that while the rival camps have avoided any fresh public confrontation, differences within the party are yet to be fully resolved.
Interestingly, former Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, one of the prominent leaders associated with the dissident camp, was recently seen at the Congress headquarters in Jammu. However, his presence was linked to a press conference addressed by AICC General Secretary and in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Syed Naseer Hussain, rather than participation in a regular organisational programme of the JKPCC.
Wani, meanwhile, has been largely occupied with party-related activities outside Jammu and Kashmir. Other prominent leaders of his group have also continued to keep away from programmes organised by the official state unit, indicating that the truce may have succeeded in containing open factionalism with The apparent ceasefire appears to have brought a halt to parallel activities, but not yet ended the dissidents’ boycott of official party programmes.
The dissident camp, headed by former JKPCC president and ex-minister Vikar Rasool Wani, has refrained from organising parallel programmes following the intervention of the Congress high command.
Leaders associated with the group have largely continued to maintain their distance from official functions organised by the JKPCC leadership headed by Tariq Hamid Karra.
The Congress high command had stepped in after prolonged differences between the two camps, with senior party leaders holding discussions to bring the rival groups to the negotiating table.
As reported earlier, AICC General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal played a key role in facilitating the reconciliation process during a meeting held in New Delhi. The meeting was also attended by AICC General Secretary in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir Dr Syed Naseer Hussain, AICC secretaries and other senior Congress leaders from the Union Territory.
Following the meeting, both factions appeared to scale down their public confrontation, raising hopes that the internal differences could be resolved through dialogue.
However, the continued absence of several dissident leaders from official party programmes indicates that the reconciliation process is still a work in progress. While neither camp has resumed open hostilities or organised competing programmes, the lack of visible participation by the dissident leaders in JKPCC activities suggests that the underlying differences have not disappeared completely.
For the Congress leadership, the immediate challenge is now to convert the political ceasefire into genuine organisational unity, particularly at a time when the party is seeking to strengthen its position in Jammu and Kashmir.
The coming weeks are likely to indicate whether the current truce develops into a lasting reconciliation or remains merely an arrangement to keep factional differences from spilling into the public domain. |
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