Vote en-masse for NC-Cong alliance for J-K statehood restoration: MP Syed Naseer Hussain

Srinagar, Sep 12: The Congress on Thursday appealed to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to vote en- masse for its alliance with the National Conference (NC) in the assembly polls and give absolute majority to the coalition to fight for the rights of the people.

"We want a strong government in J&K. We appeal to the people to do one-side voting (for the alliance). Not a single seat should go outside the alliance so that a government with an absolute majority is formed that will seek the restoration of full statehood from the Centre," Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha Syed Naseer Hussain told reporters here.

He said the BJP can go to any extent to try to form the government as it has been doing in other states where it does not get a majority. "BJP has been using the office of governor to form government in states where they did not have the majority. They split parties, buy MLAs, use agencies such as CBI and ED. They form governments by hook or crook," Hussain said.

He said the BJP knew it cannot form government in Jammu and Kashmir on its own, so they revoked Article 370, imposed governor's rule and kept the Union Territory without an assembly for long.

The Congress leader said his party was not against independent candidates and smaller parties contesting the polls, but asked the people to remain cautious and vote for NC-Congress alliance candidates only.

"(Union Home minister) Amit Shah says we (the alliance) won't get numbers. We want to reveal their conspiracy. They fight polls through their proxies, and independents," Hussain said. "We knew they would do things like this, so we formed a broader alliances," he added, and urged people to "defeat the conspiracies of the BJP".

He assured that the Congress would fight for the restoration of full statehood without any compromise with some special status for the people. "In J&K, the fight is clear. It is NC-Congress on one side, and the BJP on the other," Hussain said.