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| Demand for removing Omar Abdullah gaining momentum | | STARK REALITY-II | | RUSTAM
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Sept 14: The loud clamour in Jammu for the dismissal of the non-performing, callous and essentially militant-friendly Omar Abdullah-led government and bitter opposition to the autonomy demand and demand for the withdrawal of or amendment in the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), coupled with a demand for the reorganization of the state, is very significant. It is significant because it amounts to lack of trust in the state government that has miserably failed on all fronts and created an ugly situation for the nation in Kashmir by its reckless actions. The nation is paying a heavy price for the follies committed by the Chief Minister.
What, however, appears to be all the more significant is a change in the attitude of the BJP central leadership towards Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Till the other day, there was impression that the central BJP leadership might make common cause with the Congress-led UPA Government and not oppose the autonomy demand. The impression had everything to do with what a number of central BJP leaders have been saying and doing for quite sometime. The activities of certain BJP leaders, including the Leaders of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, undertaken by them on January 19 and August 17 and 18 at New Delhi and on June 23 at Srinagar had all served to indicate the BJP leadership's willingness to accommodate the Kashmiri Muslim identity politics or to accord legitimacy to the politics of communalism and separatism being indulged in by the Kashmiri leaders, without any exception.
Besides, the March 1999 meeting at Colombo between the Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz had created an impression that an insidious influence is at work to destroy the unity and integrity of India, accommodate Pakistan in the Indian Jammu and Kashmir and throw in the lot of the non-Muslim minorities in the state with the regressive, intolerant and cruel Valley-based leadership. What had alarmed the non-Muslim minorities in the state all the more was the revelation that the Indian Foreign Minister had agreed to divide Jammu province along the River Chenab on communal lines and grant "maximum possible autonomy to Kashmir and its adjoining areas." Sartaj Aziz wrote all this in his book, which was released only recently.
Anyway, it is always better late than never. If reports emanating from New Delhi and what the national spokespersons of the party have started saying since the first week of this month are to be believed, then it can be said that there is a radical change in the attitude of the BJP high command towards Omar Abdullah and his government. It needs to be emphasized that some top-ranking BJP leaders, L.K. Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, SS Ahluwalia and Ravishankar Prasad met on the eve of the crucial Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) at the residence of the former Deputy Prime Minister, discussed the Kashmir situation threadbare and issued a one-page statement. The statement was nothing but a blistering attack on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as well as Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre.
The statement, among other things, read like this: "It is time he (Omar Abdullah) is replaced by a more acceptable person…An unpopular Chief Minister suffers a complete alienation from his people…His Government has completely collapsed…Any dilution of AFSPA would only allow the separatists and miscreants to call the shots…The Centre is completely devoid of any vision on how to deal with the situation…This is a time for action. The Government should not under any circumstances consider lifting the AFSPA from any disturbed district of the State. The security environment must be strengthened, the miscreants must feel scared and not allowed to call the shots…Instead of realizing the seriousness of the problem and attempting to resolve it, the Central Government is living in self-delusion that by diluting the applicability of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act it can appease the separatists…The separatists want to push the Government to 'loosen the political relationship between India and the State of Jammu and Kashmir'… Once the Government 'loses this battle of nerves', the separatists want to reject the concessions granted by the Government and 'move to the next stage till they realize their declared object of Azadi'…The myth that these are peaceful protestors out to make a political statement was shattered on Eid…"
The statement issued by the BJP on the eve of the much-hyped CCS meet was clear, unambiguous and candid. (The CCS meeting took place on Monday, but failed to arrive at any conclusion as far as dilution of the AFSPA was concerned." It was a joint statement. Obviously, it carries weight and suggests that the BJP top brass has perhaps finally realized the gravity of the situation in Kashmir. One can only hope and pray that the BJP leadership would stick to what it said on the eve of CCS meeting and Eid and not let down its constituency, which has been shrinking at a very rapid pace since 1998, when the BJP entered into an unholy alliance with those who were opposed to its stand on Article 370, Uniform Civil Code and Ram Temple in order to grab power at the Centre. The BJP is the main opposition party. It is its fundamental duty to play the role of a responsible opposition and defeat all such moves as are designed to weaken the Indian sovereignty in Jammu and Kashmir and appease the unscrupulous fanatics in the Valley. It is also its duty to make common cause with the people of Jammu and Ladakh and displaced Kashmiri Hindus who have been suffering since 1947 at the hands of the Kashmiri leadership and its agents in Jammu. (To be continued) |
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