Jammu and Kashmir: Several Congress leaders resign, attack state unit chief GA Mir

Jammu: In trouble for the Congress in Jammu and Kashmir, four former ministers and three legislators have sent a joint resignation letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi saying they have not been provided an opportunity to be heard on party affairs in the union territory. The leaders, who have quit, are close to senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and the resignations come days after his visit to Jammu and Kashmir, the sources said without giving the names of all those who have resigned. According to sources in the state Congress, besides Sonia Gandhi, the resignation letter has been sent to Rahul Gandhi and in-charge Secretary, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajni Patil. The leaders charged in the letter that the “hostile attitude” of the party leadership compelled them to resign from all party posts and also trained their guns at state unit chief  GA Mir. However, some other leaders in the party close to Azad, including former Deputy chief minister Tara Chand, have distanced themselves from these leaders, the sources added. In the letter, the leaders have said that they tried to draw the attention of the party high command towards their issues but no time was given. The leaders said they have been seeking appointment from the party leadership for the last about one year through the medium of memorandum and by way of personal requests too during the visit of Rahul Gandhi to Srinagar and Jammu in August 2021 but they were not given time. Attacking Mir, they charged that the party is heading towards a “disastrous” situation under him and that a large number of Congress leaders have resigned from the Congress and joined other parties while some of them have chosen to remain silent. They also charged that some leaders have captured and hijacked the functioning of Congress party in Jammu and Kashmir. Noting that assembly polls may be announced anytime, they said the party high command is not ready to hear their genuine grievances. The sources said the Congress high command has already made it clear that any grievance should be redressed through the party mechanism and not through the media. “They are likely to face disciplinary action as they have raised the bogey against the party high command for not being heard,” a senior leader said.