'Has to be earned': Omar Abdullah on Congress leading INDIA bloc charge

NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah has called on the Congress party to actively demonstrate its leadership within the INDIA opposition alliance.

Abdullah, speaking in his first interview since returning to the chief minister's office in October, acknowledged the Congress party's national presence and its status as the largest opposition party in Parliament. He stated that these factors make the party a "natural" leader of the opposition. However, he also highlighted growing concerns among alliance partners.

Abdullah, while recognizing the Congress' significant position as a pan-India party and the largest opposition in Parliament, emphasized that leadership "has to be earned" and cannot be taken for granted.

“By virtue of being the single largest party in Parliament, and also having the 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,” Abdullah told PTI.

Abdullah noted some allies feel the Congress isn't working hard enough to maintain its leadership position. 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. That’s something the Congress might wish to consider.’”

He praised Sonia Gandhi's role within the alliance but declined to comment directly on statements by other leaders suggesting alternative leadership.

The chief minister also criticized the INDIA bloc's infrequent meetings and lack of a consistent engagement strategy. He believes the alliance's current sporadic approach is ineffective. “Our existence can’t just be about six months before Parliament elections. Our existence has to be something more than that," he stated.

He added that a regular schedule of interactions is necessary for the alliance to function effectively. “You need to have a programme of regular interactions,” he explained, adding “not that you just come alive once Lok Sabha elections are announced and suddenly start talking and trying to work things out”.

Abdullah expressed dissatisfaction with the Congress party's performance during the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, where the National Conference and Congress formed an alliance. He also highlighted the Congress party's need to analyze its performance in recent elections and improve its seat distribution strategies. He noted recurring tensions within alliances in several states.

Regarding the Congress party’s potential participation in the Jammu and Kashmir government, Abdullah explained that ministerial positions are limited and currently allocated based on the number of legislators.

He stated that the Congress party's participation is contingent upon the restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir. “So for the time being, they’ve made it very clear that so long as J&K remains a union territory, they’ll stay out. Once statehood is restored, then that will change. So we hope that when they’re done fighting in Parliament for other things, they will also talk about statehood for J&K.” he said.
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