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| BJP out to destroy J&K, beware of it | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Aug 19: Addressing the district-level workers' convention at Kathua on August 16, State BJP president Shamsher Singh Manhas suggested that "Jammu needs to be politically empowered." He was of the view that the people of Jammu province could be empowered if the state government sets up a delimitation commission to delimit the assembly constituencies afresh taking into consideration the population, voters' strength and nature of terrain. He asked the government "not to test the patience" of the people of Jammu and set up delimitation commission without wasting any time.
Had he, or for that matter any other BJP leader, the moral right to demand delimitation of the assembly constituencies, as also the political empowerment of Jammu? No state BJP leader has the moral right to demand delimitation of assembly constituencies and empowerment of Jammu. For, it was the state BJP that hobnobbed with the National Conference government in 2002 and voted for the official amendment that banned delimitation of the assembly constituencies till 2026. In effect, the official amendment to the Jammu and Kashmir Representation of People's Act says no delimitation before the 2031 census. In other words, the state government would, if it so likes, set up a delimitation commission after 2031. It is obvious that the commission so appointed would take two to three years to complete the assigned task. That means assembly elections would be held as per the report of the delimitation-to-be-appointed-after- 2031 not before 2036 in any case.
It's the BJP that is responsible for what the National Conference government did to harm Jammu and deprive it of its due share of representation in the assembly, the highest law-making body. It is pertinent to mention here that all the eight BJP MLAs, including Jammu East MLA and former state BJP president Ashok Khajuria, had voted en-block with the National Conference and the Congress to destroy Jammu politically.
Had the state BJP president taken cognizance of this BJP's deliberate onslaught on Jammu before talking about the "patience" of the people of Jammu province, he would not have raked up the issue of delimitation. The people of Jammu province are fully aware of the dubious hobnobbing and unholy and anti-Jammu between the state BJP and the National Conference. Hence, the state BJP needs to stop shedding crocodile tears to win over the Jammu electorate. The Jammu electorate is not going to oblige the BJP.
The state BJP leaders shamelessly talked about the need of empowering Jammu politically. How could they dare to rake up the issue of Jammu's political empowerment when they and others in the party removed from their political programme the concepts of statehood, reorganization and regional council? It needs to be noted that the BJP had between 2003 and 2008 adopted not once but three times resolutions demanding reorganization of the state. By reorganization, the state BJP meant trifurcation of the state into Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. So much so, the state BJP had demanded on at least two occasions a separate dispensation for the displaced Kashmiri Pandits in the Kashmir Valley. Earlier, the state BJP used to demand regional council for Jammu. It contested the 2002 assembly elections on the slogan of regional development board. As for the 2008 assembly elections, the BJP's election manifesto did not contain anything like reorganization of the state or regional development board/regional council.
This is the way the BJP wants to empower Jammu politically. Whom are they fooling? Obviously, they are fooling themselves. They cannot befool the people. The people know that political empowerment of Jammu is impossible without an instrument that has the power to legislate. It is the power to legislate that empowers people and the region to which they belong. They know that the only instrument that could empower them politically is the institution of the state and this institution they cannot get unless the state is divided. Division of the state is imperative if Jammu is to be empowered politically. There is no other way.
The truth, in short, is that the BJP has nothing in its kitty to offer to the ignored and marginalized people of Jammu province. It was a stooge of the National Conference in 2002 and it continues to play the same role in order to help the Valley-based leadership to enslave the people of Jammu province. It is indeed a party of those who are out to destroy Jammu and Kashmir and appease the Kashmiri leadership. Beware of this party.
However, one thing can be authoritatively said about the BJP: If assembly elections are held today, the BJP, like the National Conference, would be completely wiped out. The people of Jammu province indicated their hatred for the BJP in the 2009 general elections when they humbled and defeated both the candidates, Nirmal Singh, who contests election for losing election, and Leela Karan Sharma, former convener of Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti. Remember, Nirmal Singh, who also contested the 2008 assembly election and lost to the Congress candidate Raman Bhalla, had suffered fourth consecutive defeat in 2009.
To say all this is not suggest that the PDP and the Congress have done justice to the people of Jammu. They have not. They have also contributed to the extent possible to the socio-economic and politico-administrative degeneration of Jammu. Jammu is indeed unfortunate. Yes, it has survived and it will survive and achieve all-round progress. There should be no doubt it. (Concluded) |
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