Former PDP Lok Sabha member Tariq Hameed Karra today joined the Congress in the presence of Rahul Gandhi and vowed to fight the RSS and other "divisive" forces to "save the social fabric" of the country.
Karra said his decision was necessitated as the PDP-BJP alliance government was pursuing the "RSS agenda" in Jammu and Kashmir after joining hands with the so-called fascist forces.
The founder PDP member also termed as "politically motivated" the statement of army chief General Bipin Rawat on "tough action" against those supporting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.
"As far as the army chief's statement is concerned, I feel it is a politically motivated statement. It is very unfortunate that a force like the army, which has been deputed to save the nation's sovereignty, is politicised," he told reporters soon after his formal joining.
Welcoming him into the party fold, Congress vice president Gandhi said, "I am very happy that someone of his stature is joining us. I had met Karra ji in the Lok Sabha and we had some discussions. I welcome him into the Congress party and look forward to working with you".
Karra said, "We will strive, will try our level best to save the social fabric of India".
He accused the PDP of pursuing RSS' agenda in the state and said, "My conscience did not allow me to carry on any further and I resigned from PDP as well as from the membership of Lok Sabha".
"We sought votes against BJP so that BJP does not get space in the corridors of power and rest is history and in 2016 when the unrest started in J&K especially Kashmir Valley when both PDP and BJP in connivance with each other maimed people of J&K, mishandled the situation of J&K, jailed people which was against the conscience of Indian polity, blinded people there, killed children of the age of 5 and 8 years," he alleged.
"Basically after PDP backed an agenda of BJP which is dictated by the RSS, the political dynamics of the state changed. People in the state never accepted the inroads made by the RSS into the state politics using PDP-BJP alliance as a tool," Karra also told PTI.
"The alliance between PDP and BJP had necessitated need for realignment of political forces in the state. Kashmir issue has been put in a deep slumber by the ruling alliance," he said.
Party general secretary incharge of Jammu and Kashmir Ambika Soni said Karra has been the "conscience keeper" in PDP and had time and again warned it of going on a wrong track and rectify its course.
"When he saw no light at the end of the tunnel, he was compelled to leave the ranks of the PDP and we are very happy to welcome him.
"He has his own positive views of what the roadmap should be and how we can bring the processes into the mainstream of national politics and how alienation process which has set in can be reversed and can be an integral part of the Indian main stream," Soni said.
Karra earlier in the day met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi who welcomed him into the Congress party.
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Karra said he held extensive discussions with Rahul as well as Sonia Gandhi and was quite happy that they have definitive ideas about how to bring J&K out of its slumber.
"I have assured the Congress President as well as the Congress Vice President that in order to fight the RSS and menace of other divisive forces, the division they put the society into, I am at their disposal not only in J&K but elsewhere throughout India if they feel so," he said.
The former PDP MP, who has been a minister from 2002 to 2008 in the state, had jointly floated the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in Kashmir in 1999.
"Till 2014 Assembly Elections, we followed that agenda and it was after 2014 Assembly elections, PDP which had sought votes against BJP's emergence and Mr Modi's jingoistic and polarisation politics that forced me to distance myself from PDP.
"When late Mufti joined hands with the so-called fascist forces which was so named by himself, I tried to distance myself and started giving them warnings as well as suggestions that since BJP is diametrically opposite, ideologically opposite to what PDP holds.
"It would not be interest of the state as well as for Indian polity that we should give space to such people and such party which has been engaged since pre-independence days for putting the social fabric of the country into jeopardy," he said.
Karra said he has had mutual discussions with the Gandhis and "got the sense from them that they would even like to, if need be, go forward for a movement of high-level people to discuss and find ways and means to fight out fascist forces".
The 61-year-old Karra, who is a founder member of PDP along with late Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, had submitted his resignation from the Lok Sabha in September last year protesting against alleged excesses committed by security forces in quelling widespread protests after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani.
The resignation was accepted by the Lok Sabha secretariat in November last year.
Karra, whose uncle G M Sadiq was the first Congress chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said there was an urgent need for secular parties to come together to fight the "fascist forces in the state".
Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Ghulam Ahmed Mir, party's senior vice president Sham Lal Sharma and CLP leader Rigzin Jora were also present at his joining.
