Congress leadership needs to clear stand on Gupkar alliance: Yogi Adityanath

Lucknow, Nov 19: The Congress leadership should clear its stand on the Gupkar alliance in Jammu and Kashmir as its 'double standards' will not only harm national security but will also 'put the entire party in the dock', Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Thursday.

The People's Association for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), which has several Jammu and Kashmir parties as its constituents, is pressing for restoration of J-K's special status and statehood.

'The senior leadership of the Congress party needs to clear its stand on the Gupkar declaration as its double standards will not only harm the nation's security and sovereignty but also put the entire party in the dock,' Adityanath told news persons here.

The Congress has always played with the pride of the country and encouraged separatist elements, and once again, the double standards of the party have come to the fore in Kashmir, the chief minister alleged.

Besides leaders of the regional parties, the signatories of the Gupkar alliance also include some local Congress leaders, he said, adding that senior leaders of the Congress like P Chidambaram and Gulam Nabi Azad have talked of restoring Article 370.

But the Congress had on November 17 asserted that it was not a part of the Gupkar alliance and was contesting the district development council elections in the Union Territory to 'expose' the BJP through democratic means.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala issued a statement saying that the party was against any foreign intervention in the internal affairs of India, including in Jammu and Kashmir. 'The Congress party is not part of the 'Gupkar Alliance' or the 'People's Association for Gupkar Declaration',' he said.

Adityanath, however, said the presence of Congress leaders at meetings held in Jammu and Kashmir on the Gupkar alliance was a clear indication that the party's senior leaders said one thing in Delhi and did something else in Jammu and Kashmir.

It is for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 that development works are being initiated in the state through the local bodies, he said, adding the Gupkar alliance is a result of these leaders' fury as they know that if there is development, people will become aware and raise their voices for their rights, and so, an 'unholy' alliance came into being.

The UP chief minister added that harmful statements have been issued by Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and separatist leaders, and alleged that Congress leaders also getting linked with it is a dangerous indication at a time when the Army was fighting on the borders and against terrorism.