The Congress’s opposition to the restoration of Article 370 has put ally National Conference (NC) in a tight spot as it faces questions over its tie-up with a party advocating a stand opposed to its own.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had on Friday accused home minister Amit Shah of spreading lies on the Congress’s stand on Article 370, whose restoration was a poll plank of ally NC.

“(Union minister Amit Shah is saying) Congress wants to bring back Article 370. Who said it and when? You are saying things which have been passed in Parliament (abrogation of Article 370),” Kharge told a media conference in Pune.

“Why are you raking it up again? It means they want to keep such issues alive to divide the people (during elections). (why don’t you) say it in Jammu and Kashmir? The elections are already over there.”

In Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra said the resolution passed by the Assembly did not mention Article 370 and the only thing left after the Supreme Court verdict on the issue was the restoration of statehood.

People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said that the NC’s recent resolution on Article 370 was ambiguous and the Congress had given it a new twist. “The Congress is saying the resolution was for statehood, not Article 370. This has raised questions and doubts. The government should clear it (its stand),” Mehbooba said.

“The government which has 50 members should have kept their heads high. It should have condemned August 5, 2019 (developments). That was not done. They looked guilty while mentioning Article 370. It looked like a surrender,” she added.

The resolution passed in the Assembly last week called for the restoration of special status but skipped the direct mention of Articles 370 and 35A while expressing concern over its “unilateral removal”.

The six Congress legislators had backed the resolution as it did not explicitly mention Article 370.

Mehbooba did not respond to questions on whether she saw it as a betrayal by the NC.

Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Lone, who has faced allegations of being a secret ally of the BJP, also sought clarification from the NC. “Now, even the All India president of Congress Mr Mallikarjun Kharge has clarified that they never talked about getting Article 370 back. Do the people of J&K not deserve even a clarification from the National Conference,” Lone posted on X.

The NC has not formally reacted to the Congress’s claim.

On Saturday, the party said it had taken big strides “towards development and dignity” on the completion of 30 days in office. The NC has listed the resolution on special status as one of its major achievements.

Senior NC leader and Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, however, has come out all guns blazing against the Congress and asked it not to misinterpret its resolution.

“No INC president or JKPCC president has a right to misinterpret the resolution passed by the J&K Legislative Assembly in the last session,” Mehdi posted on X.