Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi said in Kolkata on Thursday that the Centre would give time and support to chief minister Omar Abdullah to get over the problem of law and order in the Valley.
Addressing a press conference, Rahul Gandhi said, Omar Abdullah is young and Kashmir is a difficult place. “Omar is doing a tough job. The Congress is supporting Omar. He is an elected leader of National Conference”.
Rahul stressed the need for bringing the youth of Kashmir into the political system to resolve the Kashmir issue. “It is not a part-time problem, it is a full time problem and we have to find a solution.”
Rahul was non-committal on the issue of withdrawing Armed Forces Special Powers Act saying he had to go into the Kashmir problem deeply before making up his mind.
The Congress leader lashed out at the Left Front again saying that “Left Front is the single biggest problem in West Bengal. “We will fight the Left Front together with Mamata Banerjee, but we will not do so if we are not respected”.
Rahul Gandhi said, Chinese leaders are astounded by what the Left Front was doing in West Bengal. “The Left Front is led by a failed ideology”, he said.
He brushed aside charges against Mamata Banerjee saying: “To say Mamata is openly supporting the Maoists is an exaggeration”.
The Congress leader said:” Naxalism is a result of complex set of circumstances like poverty and lack of connectivity, but I condemn murder, which is an act of criminals”.
On the Orissa Vedanta project, Rahul said: "What was going on in Niyamgiri was not corporate versus tribals. The real issue was it was illegal. It was criminal."
Rahul alleged that the farmers in Uttar Pradesh did not get adequate compensation for the land acquired near Yamuna Expressway. He demanded the same terms of compensation given to farmers in Haryana. PTI
