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| Cornered Azad again let down his supporters in J&K | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
Jammu, Aug 7: Union Health Minister and former J&K Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has once again let down his supporters. In an interview to a leading national Hindi language daily, Azad has said but to talk of today, he will never take over as J&K Chief Minister. He had taken over as Chief Minister of J&K in 2005 as a loyal worker of the party because he was asked by the high command to do so. He was interested in national politics before and he is interested in national politics today as well. He dismissed as a figment of imagination reports in a section of the media that he will take active part in the state politics and take on head on his "detractor" Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz.
Azad has taken this pledge at a time when his supporters, including a few ministers, former and otherwise, legislators, had gone to the extent of meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, AICC chief Sonia Gandhi, AICC general Secretary Rahul Gandhi and Finance Minister Pranab Mukharjee and demanding not just suspension of the J&K Assembly and imposition of the Governor's Rule in the state, but also the removal of JKPCC chief Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz on the ground that he had failed to strengthen the party in Kashmir and other parts of the state. They met them only in the last week.
An impression had gone down that it was Azad who had motivated his "loyalists" to persuade the party high command to remove Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz. Whatever the cause and whatever the motivation, the activities of his "loyalists" have boomeranged to the extent that Azad had been left with no other option but to clear his position by virtually taking a pledge that he will not interfere in the state politics for all the times to come. There were reports that the supporters of Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz and those who wanted Omar Abdullah to continue to lead the government had become active immediately after the reports about the activities of the Azad "loyalists" in Delhi appeared in the press to neutralize the influence of these "loyalists" and convince the party high command that all their activities had been designed to destabilize the Omar Abdullah government.
It seems that the party high command has snubbed Azad for the activities his "loyalists" undertook. How else should one interpret the announcement of the cornered Azad to the effect that he will never assume the chief ministerial responsibilities in J&K? Only time will tell if Azad remained committed to what he told the correspondent of a national daily on Friday.
In case he remains committed to what said, it would be a very positive development for the state in general and Jammu province in particular. He did enough of damage when he ruled the state for about two years and a half. He did only three good things. One, he exposed the champions of human rights. Two, he commended the role of the army and security forces. Three, he showed the PDP leaders like the Muftis their rightful place. Except for all this, his role was highly controversial.
Azad promoted corruption by making a ridiculous statement in Delhi immediately after taking over as Chief Minister that "those who are honest are inefficient and those who are corrupt are efficient." He sidelined everyone in his Council of Ministers and took almost all the decisions unilaterally. He made senior Cabinet Ministers to wait outside for hours together. He was inaccessible and he promoted the culture of sycophancy. He hit the people of Jammu province below the belt by subverting the Wazir Commission report and creating four more districts in Kashmir overlooking the commission's unambiguous recommendation that Jammu deserved three more districts and Kashmir only one. Had he remained in office for some more time, he would have increased Kashmir's representation in the legislative Assembly. His formula that representation of Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh each be increased by 25 per cent seats was nothing but a concerted and well-crafted move on his part to enable Kashmir to further strengthen his stranglehold on Jammu province.
Azad not only damaged Jammu province. He also harmed the national interest. It was during his rule that the Assembly rejected well-meaning and integrationist private members' bills like the bills seeking incorporation of the words secularism and socialism in the preamble of the state constitution and seeking deletion from the state constitution of those clauses which dealt with the state flag. It was also during his rule that a private member's bill seeking one-year punishment for those not paying due respect to the state flag was adopted.
The "loyalists" of Azad must look all these facts in the face. They should not feel abandoned. They should feel happy that Azad has decided not to interfere in state politics. Why should they care for the uncaring, undependable, opportunist and unscrupulous Azad, who only believes in the concept of use and throw? To depend on Azad would be a mere wastage of time, money and energy. There are persons in Jammu who have been suffering because they pinned faith in Azad and conducted themselves accordingly. |
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