Cong. should ‘justify’ leadership role in INDIA bloc as there is ‘disquiet’: Omar

Press Trust of India New Delhi Acknowledging growing discontent among INDIA bloc partners with the Congress, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has asked the party to justify its leadership role in the alliance. In an interview with PTI, he emphasised that leadership “has to be earned” and could not be taken for granted. He suggested that the party raise the issue of restoration of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. “By virtue of being the single-largest party in Parliament, and also having the [positions of] Leader of Opposition in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the fact that they have a pan-India footprint, which no other party can lay claim to, they are natural sort of leaders of an Opposition movement,” he said. Yet there is a sense of disquiet among some of the allies because they feel the Congress is “not doing enough to justify it or to earn it or to keep it (the position of leading the INDIA bloc)”. “That’s something the Congress might wish to consider,” he said. Mr. Abdullah stressed the need for sustained interactions beyond the electoral cycle, noting that the alliance’s current approach appeared sporadic and ineffective. “Our existence can’t just be about six months before Parliament elections. Our existence has to be something more than that. The last time we met was when the Lok Sabha results had only just come out. There has been no formal or informal sort of work that has been done for the INDIA bloc,” he said. Mr. Abdullah’s comments suggest underlying tensions within the Opposition alliance, indicating that infrequent meetings could potentially magnify minor disagreements. “If we had a more regular process of interaction, perhaps these smaller irritants wouldn’t assume larger proportions,” he said. He praised former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, describing her as a leader of unparalleled stature within the Opposition alliance. “She plays an important leadership role,” he said. Mr. Abdullah chose not to give a direct answer to a question on the statements made by some leaders including Sharad Pawar and Lalu Yadav, in favouring West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the better leader, but highlighted the INDIA bloc’s lack of consistent engagement, warning that the coalition risked becoming a mere election-time convenience. https://epaper.thehindu.com/ccidist-ws/th/th_international/issues/111708/OPS/GAGDNJ5R9.1.png?cropFromPage=true