| Issueless, directionless Panthers Party | | Negative politics | | Neha
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Feb 15: The Panthers Party, which lost all the seats it contested in the last Assembly election, has, it seems, not learned any lesson. Its top leaders, all from a family, are pulling in different directions. While the two-time MLA Bawant Singh Mankotia, who suffered a defeat at the hands of BJP rebel Pawan Gupta in the Udhampur assembly constituency, has been playing somewhat positive role as chairman of the newly-founded Jammu Pradesh United front (JPUF) and urging the BJP to promote the Jammu cause, Harsh Dev Singh, also a two-time MLA and who suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the BJP in the Ramnagar Assembly constituency, is indulging in the kind of politics the desperate Nitish Kumar is playing in Bihar.
Harsh Dev Singh, like the fake secularists, is extending unflinching support to the NC, the Congress and similar other Valley-centric and Kashmir-based outfits, including the CPI-M and the PDF, and urging them to work against the PDP and the BJP. Earlier, he had appealed to the non-BJP and non-PDP outfits to join hands to ensure the defeat of the PDP-BJP candidates seeking election to the Rajya Sabha. In other words, he, unlike Balwant Singh Mankotia, had joined hands with those forces in the Kashmir Valley who wanted to keep Jammu out of the government and dubbed the BJP a communal outfit. Interestingly, he and many others had tried their best to forge a pre-poll alliance with the BJP, but had failed, as the BJP refused to accept their conditions.
Not content with that, he has been consistently attacking the BJP-led NDA Government and virtually directly supporting the NC and the Congress, which are known for their anti-Jammu credentials. It appears, he has lost his way following his defeat.
If Harsh Dev Singh has been directly and indirectly opposing the moves of the PDP and the BJP on formation of the next government in J&K, Bhim Singh, self-styled chief patron of the Panthers Party, has not only been doing the same in his own typical manner but also urging the State Governor, NN Vohra, to invoke section 92 of the J&K Constitution, dissolve the Legislative Assembly and work for fresh elections in the state. Significantly, the Governor invoked section 92 on January 8 following the refusal of the then caretaker Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to continue as caretaker Chief Minister.
The stand of Bhim Singh and the conduct of Harsh Dev Singh clearly show that they have no positive issue to rake up and that they have turned directionless. The kind of politics they have been indulging in for quite sometime now has only amused and agitated the people of Jammu province. They had little or no faith in Bhim Singh because he was never consistent in his approach, as also because he has consistently flirted with many anti-Jammu, and even undesirable forces, but they were appreciative of the role of Harsh Dev Singh in the Assembly. They are feeling pity about Harsh dev Singh, saying "his defeat has rattled him to the extent that he has been making common cause with those who have not only harmed the Jammu cause but also the national cause".
The fact of the matter is that many in Jammu are accusing the Panthers Party of taking recourse to "negative politics". Bhim Singh and Harsh Dev Singh would do well to take cognizance of the changing mood in Jammu and refashion their whole approach towards ant-Jammu forces. They must remember that negative politics never pays dividends. |
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