Jammu, 29 August (H.S.): Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari today accused the Congress of consistently harming J&K's interests since 1947, alleging that the party was responsible for hollowing Article 370.

Speaking to reporters in Tral, Bukhari said the Congress had played a damaging role in J&K's political affairs over the decades.

Congress has been on our back since 1947; they have broken our back. If anyone has hollowed Article 370, it was the Congress, Bukhari said.

He also questioned the political relationship between the Congress and the National Conference (NC), alleging that there must be some understanding between the two parties.

They are in the Government or not, but due to them the NC is in the Government; there must be some arrangement between the two, he said.

Bukhari also accused the NC-Government in J&K of failing to address the issues faced by the people, saying that those who had voted for the Government had expected it to work for them.

People had thought that the Government would address their issues. We will follow it up with the Centre, he said.

He said the Centre had been preoccupied with elections over the past six months but expressed hope that it would now turn its attention towards issues concerning J&K.

Our voice reaches Delhi. The Centre has been busy with the elections in the last six months. Now I think that they will be considering the issues related to J&K because the elected Government has not been able to work for the people, Bukhari said.

On the issue involving National Conference MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, Bukhari described it as an internal matter of the NC and said he would refrain from commenting as long as Mehdi remained in the party.

This is the internal issue of NC. Till the time Aga Sahib is in the party, till then it is their internal issue. If I make any comments, they will tell me it is our matter, he said.

However, taking a swipe at Mehdi, Bukhari said the NC MP's political position would become clearer if he eventually moved outside the party.

So far the lion is roaring inside the cage. When he will come out, then we will talk, we will see if he has been domesticated, or dangerous, he said.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar