After 16 Years, National Conference To Hold Delegates Session, 20,000 Members To Participate

The Opposition party, National Conference (NC), in Jammu and Kashmir will hold its delegates session after 16 years -- the last session was held in 2002 -- in Srinagar on October 29.

According to party leaders, around 20,000 delegates representing different regions of the state are likely to participate in the session, which will be held at the Sheri Kashmir Cricket Stadium.

“We have already got permission from the deputy commissioner Srinagar to have the session at the stadium”, Tanvir Sadiq, political secretary to National Conference working president Omar Abdullah, said.

The party would discuss the present situation in the state. When the last delegates session was held in 2002, the party had 57 members in the 87 member Legislative Assembly of the state. Later, when in October-November 2002, the elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir, the party’s won 28 seats. At present, the party has only 15 members in the assembly. The party’s electoral performance would be the special focus during the deliberations, Sadiq said.

The NC is holding the session at a time when observers in Kashmir see the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at its weakest. As killings and blinding of youths in 2016 continue to haunt the ruling PDP and the troubled alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is making things difficult for the party. Once known for its soft-separatist credentials, the NC sees a chance to cash in on the PDP’s popularity deficit.

The NC session will also talk about the appointment of new Kashmir interlocutor.  On October 23, the Centre government announced an appointment of Dineshwar Sharma, former director of Intelligence Bureau (IB), as interlocutor for Kashmir.  The PDP sees it as the boldest political initiative on Kashmir by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

NC president Farooq Abdullah though dismissed his appointment, saying what would he do except presenting a report, the party would meet the interlocutor.  Abdullah has argued that there were already reports presented to the Centre government including a report of Justice Saghir and other Kashmir interlocutors that were never implemented.

In March 2006, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set up five working groups on Jammu and Kashmir to start round-table dialogues. Separatists didn’t participate in the working group dialogue despite an invitation. The working groups such as the one headed by Justice Saghir Ahmad had recommended that “demand for autonomy could be examined in light of the Kashmir Accord”.

NC spokesman Junaid Azim Mattu said during the delegates’ session the party would discuss the challenges faced by the State. He said the party would also deliberate upon what the ideal political engagement should be.