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Baramulla: Congress on June 1 pledged support to the Centre on its latest initiative to usher in peace in Jammu and Kashmir and hoped it would be successful.

"I hope that the new beginning (Prime Minister's peace initiative with Pakistan) will be successful. Congress welcomes this initiative and assures the Centre of its support," Congress president Sonia Gandhi told a public rally.

Gandhi, who spoke in Hindi, said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir had deteriorated in the last 10-12 years and it was not so bad during the regimes of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

She said the coalition government of Congress and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state "has prepared a Common Minimum Programme. Our policy with regard to Jammu and Kashmir is very clear to bring the State on the path of peace and development."

PTI