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| BJP forfeited right to criticize NC months ago | | News Analysis | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Feb 27: On Friday, two BJP leaders, including a former minister and party spokesperson, became a laughing stock by criticizing NC president Farooq Abdullah and his son and NC working president Omar Abdullah for their stand on J&K, PoJK and autonomy. They said that the loss of power had forced Abdullahs to demand autonomy from India. On February 24, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah had demanded greater autonomy for the state. However, it was Omar Abdullah who explained away the autonomy concept.
He said that "India should look after Defence, Foreign Affairs and communication alone" and leave all other things to the care of Kashmiri leadership and also, like Kashmiri separatists, shamelessly said that accession of the state with India was "conditional", which was not the case. The Princely State of J&K acceded to India like all other 560-odd princely states and all of them signed the same Instrument of Accession. Besides, Omar Abdullah asked India to allow Kashmir to fleece the Indian taxpayers. He had said that the NC would not only want New Delhi to close down its constitutional shop in J&K, but would also want it to meet all the financial needs of the proposed autonomous state.
The BJP leaders were right when they tore into the Abdullahs. But the question is: Had they any moral right to take on the votaries of autonomy in Kashmir? They didn't have the right. The BJP forfeited the right to criticise the protagonists of autonomy and self-rule on March 1, 2015, the day it became part of the J&K Government and made public the PDP-BJP agenda of alliance.
The agenda of alliance was an anti-thesis of what the BJP had preached all though and against the mandate that the BJP got both in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections from Jammu. The BJP through the roundly condemned agenda of alliance not only agreed to maintain the special status that the state enjoyed under the atrocious and divisive Article 370, but also committed itself to further driving the state away from India. It also accepted the Kashmiri demand that Pakistan and Kashmiri separatists were the other "stakeholders" in J&K and even agreed to demilitarise the state in a phased manner and withdraw Armed Forces Special Powers Act and Public Safety Act.
The Agenda of alliance on the basis of which the PDP-BJP coalition Government was formed in J&K had said: "While recognising the different positions and appreciating the perceptions BJP and PDP have on the constitutional status of J&K considening the political and legislative realities, the present position will be maintained on all the constitutional provisions pertaining to J&K including the special status in the Constitution of India".
The agenda of alliance had also said: "The Union Government has recently initiated several steps to normalise the relationship with Pakistan. The coalition Government will seek to support and strengthen the approach and initiatives taken by the Government to create a reconciliatory environment and build stakes for all in the peace and development within the sub-continent. The same will be pursued by taking confidence building measures such as, enhancing people to people contact on both sides of the LoC encouraging civil society exchanges, taking travel, commerce, trade and business across the LoC to the next level and opening new routes across all three regions to enhancing connectivity. The earlier NDA Government led by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee had initiated a dialogue process with all political groups, including the Hurriyat Conference, in the spirit of 'Insaaniyat, Kashmiriyat aur Jamhooriyat'. Following the same principles, the coalition Government will facilitate and help initiate a sustained and meaningful dialogue with all internal stakeholders, which will include all political groups irrespective of their ideological views and predilections. This dialogue will seek to build a broad based consensus on resolution of all outstanding issues of J&K".
Regarding the security situation in the state and AFSPA and PSA, the agenda of alliance had said: "The situation in the State has improved vastly and to build greater public confidence in its sustainability, people of the State must be able to get the peace and normalcy dividend. In this context, the coalition Government will thoroughly review the security situation in the state with a view to examine the need and desirability of all the special laws being applied to the state in view of the situation which is improving. While both parties have historically held a different view on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the need for it in the State at present, as part of the agenda for governance of this alliance, the coalition Government will examine the need for de-notifying 'disturbed areas'. This, as a consequence, would enable the Union Government to take a final view on the continuation of AFSPA in these areas".
Not only this, the agenda of alliance had also said that steps will be taken to make the Army vacate those pieces of land which were being used by it and NHPC power projects like Dulhasti and Uri will be snatched from the NHPC. It had said: "All lands other than those given to the security forces on the basis of lease, licenses and acquisition under the provision of the Land Acquisition Act shall be returned to the rightful legal owners" and "explore modalities for transfer of Dulhasti and Uri hydro power projects to J&K…"
All this should expose the BJP and its duplicity. No one today believes in what the BJP says. It has lost all of its credibility. The BJP leaders would do well first to read and understand the agenda of alliance and then speak. They cannot behave differently while hankering after power and in power and differently when out-of-power like the NC does. |
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