Congress and National Conference — the alliance partners in Jammu and Kashmir are on poaching spree and accusing each other of playing ‘a foul play and desecrating the coalition dharma’.
Two months after National Conference had lured away Sheikh Ishfaq Jabbar, Congress leader from Ganderbal, in to the party fold, the Congress on Monday paid them back in the same coin luring away Mohd Aslam Goni, flamboyant lawyer friend and political advisor of Dr Farooq Abdullah.
Goni had ‘unsuccessfully’ contested 2008 Assembly polls opposite Ghulam Nabi Azad from Bhaderwah Assembly constituency. Goni had also served the State in the
capacity of Attorney General during Abdullah’s previous term in office.
He was dumped by Abdullah in the wake of multi-crore scam in Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association.
He was chairman of JKCA when the scam was unearthed and police investigations were ordered.
He was also disliked by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his coterie in the State unit. When National Conference had lured Congressman, who had contested against Omar Abdullah in 2008 Assembly polls, PCC chief Saif-ud-din Soz had publicly expressed his displeasure by saying,” NC has unnecessarily created an atmosphere of bickering in the coalition by wooing Ishfaq. Their move has definitely hurt the coalition dharma”.
In addition, two senior PDP leaders Thakur Balbir Singh, PDP general secretary and former MlC Murtaza Khan, sulking for a long time, joined Congress party along with a group of 15 prominent citizens, political activists.
Two retired State Government employees including former Director Information Farooq Renzu Shah and Zahida Khan too joined the Congress party to strengthen the hands of secular forces in the State.
Shafiq Mir, chairman of the All J&K Panchayat Conference also joined the Congress.