Srinagar, Nov 15 (HS): Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president Tariq Hameed Karra on Sunday described the possible induction of Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s granddaughter, Ruwa Shah, into the PDP as a “welcome step” and said those coming into the mainstream should be welcomed.

Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, he was asked whether Ruwa Shah’s possible joining had triggered a controversy. He said the media itself was creating the controversy. “It is you people who are creating controversy by raising questions on these things,” he said.

Karra said India is a democratic country where people come and go. According to him, such individuals cannot be slotted as either mainstream or separatist.

The Congress president said that if some people are joining the mainstream after realising that they should be part of it, they should be welcomed. “If they are leaving a particular ideology and coming into the mainstream, there is nothing wrong with that,” he said.

Referring to his party’s past, he said there was a time when it was accused of winning with the votes of Jamaat-e-Islami, but it said the same thing then too.

Karra questioned what the justification could be for opposing such people. “Either say they are not citizens of India,” he said. “Those who until yesterday hesitated to swear by the Constitution of India, if they want to embrace it today, that is a good thing and it should be welcomed.”

Pertinent to mention that, according to reports, Ruwa Shah, a granddaughter of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, is in talks to join the PDP. In March 2024, she issued a public notice distancing herself from the Hurriyat Conference founded by her late grandfather.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Zahoor Hussain Bhat