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| Exit of Drabu a good riddance, set back for Mufti & Mattoo | | | RUSTAM
EARLY TIMES EPORT
JAMMU, Aug 28: Protagonist of Kashmir's independence and right-hand of PDP leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Hasib Drabu has been shown the door and removed from the prestigious position of chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd. Though belated, it is step in the right direction. His exit is a good riddance by any yardstick. He should have been removed much earlier considering his dubious credentials. It is a riddle why did not Ghulam Nabi Azad remove Drabu after taking over as the Chief Minister of the state. It is also amazing that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who knows that Drabu was the Mufti's man, took such a long time to show Drabu the door.
It is an established fact that Drabu was not just a close lieutenant of Mufti Sayeed, who has been working day and night to drive Jammu and Kashmir away from the country's mainstream and ensure that Pakistan enjoys co-equal sovereign power with India in the Indian Jammu and Kashmir. He talks of supra-state measures; he talks of dual sovereignty, dual currency, dual control, dual management and what not. It is also an established fact that Drabu was, along with former Vice-Chancellor of Jammu University Amitabh Mattoo, according to trustworthy sources, one of the chief architects of the self-rule lynchpin. Drabu and Mattoo were the two persons the Mufti trusted the most.
Had Drabu continued to function as chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank for some more time, he would have given an religious orientation to the banking system in the state. In fact, he had already taken a substantial step in this regard by making several branches of the Jammu and Kashmir bank to transact business on Sundays. The fact is that Drabu danced not only to tunes of the Muftis, but also followed the dictates pf Kashmiri separatists like Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who has been asking the Muslims of Kashmir to resume normal work on Sundays. Geelani is for holiday on Friday. He wants replicate Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir. Drabu did help him to the extent he could in this regard.
In the place, Drabu should not have been appointed chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir. Why because just a couple of days before he took over as chairman of the bank on June 9, 2005, he had openly revolted against India and demanded freedom for Jammu and Kashmir. It bears recalling that in the first week of June 2005, controversial Barkha Dutt of the NDTV organized a discussion on Kashmir. The programme was called "We the People." NDTV 24X7 telecasts this programme every Sunday at 8 pm. During the debate on Kashmir, Barkha Dutt asked Drabu as to what exactly he stood for - India, Pakistan, autonomy or independence? Drabu's one-line answer was: "WE want independence from India."
Drabu demanded independence from India at a time when there were reports that the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India was likely to clear his name for the coveted post. Perhaps, he took the custodians of the Indian State for granted. That could be the only plausible reason. Otherwise, how could a man who was likely to take over as chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank in a couple of days cross the Lakshman Rekha by demanding independence from India?
It may be noted that the anti-India tirade of Drabu or his statement that he stood for the independence of the state had created a sort of furore in Jammu. One of the Jammu-based political parties upped its ante and held a press conference to urge the Union Government to drop the idea of appointing of Drabu as chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank. What the spokesman of the said party said was reported in some of the leading dailies. The upshot of the whole argument of the said party was that the appointment of Drabu as chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank would only embolden the anti-national forces and damage the national cause in Kashmir and, hence, he should not be appointed, but with no result. The custodians of the Indian State, who were under the baneful influence of Mufti Sayeed, did not pay any heed to the objections raised against Drabu's proposed appointment. They, much to the chagrin of the critics, handed over the coveted chair to Drabu on a platter.
Omar Abdullah has done well to remove Drabu. But this is just not enough. There are many Drabus and Mattoos in the administration and they also need to be shown the door. If Omar Abdullah wants to deliver, he has to do two things. One, he should not make any statement that irks the nationalist constituency in the state. Two, he must rid the government and semi-government establishments of all Drabus and all Mattoos. |
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