The National Conference (NC)-led government’s resolution on the restoration of the Union Territory’s special status was already facing criticism from other regional parties. Now, ally Congress’s remarks on the issue have put it in a tight spot and given more ammunition to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the People’s Conference (PC) that have criticised the Omar Abdullah-led administration for moving an “ambiguous” resolution on the matter.

“As far as the (Article) 370 resolution is concerned, there is no mention of the provision in it. Secondly, it is understood that after the Supreme Court verdict, the only thing that remains to be granted is statehood. Our stand on the issue is clear. How someone presents it, is their choice,” J&K Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra said on Friday.

The resolution, passed in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly amid protests by BJP MLAs on November 7, came under attack from the PDP and the People’s Conference that alleged it “did not clearly and unequivocally” condemn the events of August 5, 2019, or reject the Centre’s decision to split the erstwhile state into two Union Territories, and does not talk about the restoration of Article 370.

Karra’s comments came hours after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, while slamming the BJP for its “divisive politics”, said at a rally in Pune that his party was not in favour of restoration of Article 370. “(Union Home Minister) Amit Shah claims the Congress wants to bring back Article 370 but who in the party has ever said this? Parliament has settled the issue. If the BJP truly believes it, let them say it in Kashmir now that the polls are done,” he said.

Following these comments, the NC immediately went into damage control mode but the statement of Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary only aggravated the party’s problems. In an interview to a local channel in Jammu, Choudhary who had moved the resolution in the Assembly urged people to read the document, saying, “Does it mention (article) 370?” He added, “You continue to repeat (Article) 370, 370. Has someone read the resolution? I am sad that it comes in the media also. You read the resolution first, what is written in it.”

Senior NC leader and Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi took to social media to target the Congress for “misinterpreting” the resolution. He also had a word of caution for his party colleagues.

“No INC president or JKPCC president has a right to misinterpret the resolution passed by the J&K Legislative Assembly in the last session. The purpose of that resolution is to express the people’s disapproval of all the amendments and unconstitutional abrogation of the guaranteed (Special) Status of J&K from the year 1953 to 2019. This resolution calls for the return of all the guarantees in their original shape and form as was operational before 1953 including Art 370 and 35A. Let alone JKPCC or any other entity. Even if anyone from within @JKNC_ tries to misinterpret the resolution otherwise and against the wishes of the people, will be rejected and pushed by the people to a corner of irrelevance as the allies of BJP were in the last election,” he wrote on X on Friday.

However, the NC continued to receive flak over the resolution. Former CM and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said Article 370 was an emotional issue for the people of Kashmir. “We raised objections at a time when the resolution was moved (in the Assembly) and said nothing was clear in it. A government with 50 members should talk about it with their head held high. Firstly, they should have condemned the events of August 5, 2019. The way they (NC) spoke about Article 370, it seemed they were shy,” she said on Saturday.

Mufti also criticised the Congress for claiming the resolution was for the statehood (of Jammu and Kashmir) and not (Article) 370. “I think it has created questions and apprehensions in the minds of the people. They should come clear on it,” she said.

The day before, Mufti’s party colleague and PDP legislator Waheed Para hit out at the NC, saying on X, “It matters what the Congress says… It appears that the NC didn’t bother to clarify Congress’ stance on (the happenings of ) August 5, 2019, Article 370 or Article 35A during their seat sharing negotiations. I am sure @RuhullahMehdi sahab will concur that the Deputy CM, who introduced the resolution, holds the authority to interpret it. In an interview, the deputy CM while addressing questions about the resolution said: ‘You’re an educated journalist. Why are you repeatedly linking the resolution to Article 370’.”

The resolution came in for criticism from PC leader Sajad Lone who asked what stopped the NC from bringing a clear, unambiguous resolution condemning the events of August 5, 2019. “There are different interpretations of three sentences in the resolution. Either only people in the NC know English well or they are lying through their teeth, which they have been adept at for the last seven decades,” Lone said on Saturday.

The PC chief said while the Congress claimed the resolution was not about Article 370, the NC claimed it was about the provision and much more. “If the NC was so serious about Article 370, why did they not write it in plain English? Why are they having to explain the three sentences? Was there a dearth of paper or was it the dearth of will and courage? Were the choice of words pre-scripted and authored in Delhi? This phrase ‘special status’, is it present anywhere in the Constitution? Folklore parlance and Constitutional parlance are two different concepts,” he said.

Terming the resolution “a fixed match” between the NC and the BJP, Lone alleged that the BJP’s reaction was expected. “They put the Congress in the dock ahead of the Maharashtra polls. We have understood it. When will the Congress understand it? Perhaps, never,” he said.