Congress core group meets, discuss on withdrawal of AFSPA

Grappling with the contentious issue of partial withdrawal of AFSPA from Jammu and Kashmir, Congress top brass including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi Monday held intense consultations in Dlhi.

The meeting of the Congress Core Group came close on the heels of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah meeting the Prime Minister and Home Minister P Chidambaram this morning. Omar had met Defence Minister AK Antony on Monday.

There was no official word on what transpired at the 90-minute meeting of the Core Group in which Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, a former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, was also present.

Azad's presence at the meeting was significant as he is also the party general secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, where the issue of separate Telangana is back into focus in the wake of the recent agitations.

Congress has plans to hold a meeting of leaders of UPA constituents before the Winter session of Parliament begins on November 22 to hold consultations on various issues including Telangana.

On the issue of AFSPA, the Army had voiced serious concern over the move to withdraw it from certain parts of Jammu and Kashmit citing security reasons even as Omar has been insisting on it.

After his meetings with the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, Omar said there was ample opportunity to address the concerns of the armed forces and still go ahead with the proposed plan.

He also made it clear that he was not in the "business of playing politics with national security", nor would he do so ever in future.

Azad had said in Jammu recently that no controversy should be made out on AFSPA and a decision has to be taken politically.

National Conference and Congress are sharing power in the state for the past three years. The meeting also comes ahead of the winter session, which is likely to be a stormy affair.