SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president and MLA Tariq Hameed Karra on Sunday said the Congress would continue to raise genuine public concerns in the Assembly despite being in an alliance with the National Conference (NC), asserting that the alliance would not come in the way of the party highlighting people’s legitimate demands.
Speaking to reporters in Srinagar after a meeting of Congress legislators ahead of the upcoming Assembly session, Karra said the purpose of the legislature was to raise questions and ensure that issues affecting people were addressed at the earliest. “We are in alliance with the National Conference, but that does not mean we will not raise public issues. We will take up genuine concerns and ensure they are expedited,” he said.
Karra said matters could be raised by members of both the ruling side and the opposition, as the primary objective of the Assembly was to ensure that public work was taken up and completed without unnecessary delay. He said the Congress legislature party meeting was convened to discuss matters related to the forthcoming session.
On recent differences between the Congress and the NC over issues including Vande Mataram and UPI-related matters, Karra said the party’s position needed to be viewed within the broader framework of the alliance. “We are in an alliance and we are on a principled stand. We took that alliance as a principled stand, keeping in mind the larger picture,” he said.
Karra reiterated that being part of an alliance would not prevent the Congress from speaking on issues affecting the public. “Being in an alliance does not mean that we will not raise people’s issues. Being in an alliance does not mean that we will not talk about people’s legitimate demands,” he said.
