Restoration of statehood priority: Congress

New Delhi, Oct 8: The Congress on Tuesday said the people of Jammu and Kashmir have defeated the “mischievous designs” of the BJP to “engineer a majority” and asserted that the Congress-NC government’s priority will be the restoration of full statehood for the Union Territory.

The opposition party, however, also conceded that its performance in Jammu should have been better.

The pre-poll alliance between the National Conference and Congress managed to cross the halfway mark by securing 48 seats with the regional party getting the lion’s share of 42 seats. The BJP secured 29 seats.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the people of Jammu and Kashmir have given a clear, decisive, and convincing mandate to the NC-Congress alliance.

“The priority for the alliance government will be the restoration of full statehood for the UT of J&K. Of course, we have our manifestos, we will have a common programme. Both Congress and National Conference are duty bound to give a government, an administration that is responsible, responsive, accountable and transparent to the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Ramesh said at a press conference at the AICC headquarters.

“I just want to say that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have defeated the mischievous designs of the BJP to engineer a majority of its own,” he said.

Ramesh alleged that till Monday, this effort was being made but the people’s verdict has come out very clearly and the moves of the BJP and those who were managing the elections to somehow cobble up a majority have been defeated.

“I admit that our performance should have been better in Jammu. There would be deliberation and review of that,” he said.