The only representative of the National Conference in the seven all-party delegations which are travelling to foreign countries to convey India’s stand on terrorism and Pakistan did not leave with his group on Thursday.
MP Mian Altaf Ahmad, who was part of the delegation led by DMK MP Kanimozhi, which is in Moscow for the first leg of its tour, said he had informed the government that he would not be travelling because of his commitment towards the annual Urs at his native village.
The NC is the ruling party in Jammu and Kashmir, which was most affected in the recent conflict with Pakistan. With Altaf staying out, the only other leaders from J&K who are part of the delegations are former Congress CM Ghulam Nabi Azad, whose Democratic Progressive Azad Party suffered a rout in last year’s Assembly elections, and Ghulam Ali Khatana, a nominated Rajya Sabha MP of the BJP.
Asked about the NC not being a part of the delegations and if the party was thinking of a replacement for Altaf, NC chief spokesman Tanvir Sadiq told The Indian Express: “As of now, we have not taken any decision.” All the delegations are expected to be on their way by Sunday.
Altaf is a prominent spiritual leader of the J&K Gujjar community. Thousands attend the annual Urs held at Altaf’s native village Wangath, in Kangan, held to commemorate his great grandfather who was a spiritual leader of the Gujjars.
Altaf said the Urs has been commemorated for the last 128 years. “There is nothing political about my decision not to be a part of the delegation. The fact is that I informed them (the government) in advance that I can’t go,” Altaf, who represents the Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary seat, told The Indian Express. “I am the host at the Urs. How do you expect the host to be missing when the guests arrive?”
The all-party delegation to which Altaf had been named includes, apart from Kanimozhi, Samajwadi Party MP Rajeev Rai, BJP MP Brijesh Chowta, RJD MP Prem Chand Gupta, Aam Aadmi Party MP Ashok Kumar Mittal and former Ambassadors Manjeev S Puri and Jawed Ashraf. Apart from Russia, they are scheduled to visit Spain, Greece, Latvia and Slovenia.
The members will be interacting with ministers, political leaders, thinkers and media in the countries they visit to apprise them of India’s point of view on terrorism.
