Neha
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Feb 26: It is very interesting. While bulk of the Srinagar-based media is not happy over the agreement between the PDP and the BJP to form coalition government in J&K, many leading national dailies have editorially commended the agreement, notwithstanding the fact that some have also hinted at the some hurdles ahead in PDP-BJP alliance considering the fact that they subscribe to different ideologies.
The Pioneer in its editorial "A governance coalition" (Feb 25) has, among other things, said: "After two months of intense negotiations, it is heartening to see that the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party have come to an agreement over the terms and conditions that will shape their Government in Jammu & Kashmir". "A careful scrutiny of the common minimum programme, however, shows that neither party has made a U-turn on any of its values and positions. It's just that both parties have chosen to build on their commonalities, such as a commitment to good governance and development, while effectively managing their differences. This is as it should be, for such is the wish of all the people of the State, including Jammu".
The Hindu in its editorial "Pragmatism over politics" (Feb 26) has, inter-alia, said:"The nomenclature for the PDP-BJP coalition points to the pragmatism needed on the perilous path the two parties have bravely undertaken in forming a coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir. Their coalition document is called an 'Agenda for the Alliance', not a 'common minimum programme'. And the two sides have made it clear that what they are forging is not a 'political alliance' but a 'governance alliance'. Despite that, their decision to come together is itself a welcome sign that leaders both in the State and the Centre are willing to put aside the extreme rhetoric of the election campaign to build a government that represents the mandate fractured along Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh lines, and to cater to their constituencies there as one whole".
The Times of India in its editorial "Deal at last: PDP and BJP must quickly operationalise their alliance and redefine governance in J&K" (Feb 26) has, among other things, said: "Given that BJP and PDP won between them 53 of the state's 87 seats - BJP mostly in Jammu and PDP mostly in the Valley, this will be a broadly representative government bridging many of its differences.
This is something the state sorely needs. They should further this process by tying up at the Centre as well - making PDP a partner of the ruling NDA". "Having thus negotiated contentious issues, PDP and BJP need to quickly get down to governance. J&K voted for change precisely because the previous NC-Congress regime was perceived to have failed to deliver on governance…To begin with, the new government must quickly dedicate itself to reconstruction work necessitated by the devastating floods last year," it also said.
And The Asian Age in its editorial "The hurdles ahead in BJP-PDP alliance" (Feb 26) has, among other things, said: "The Kashmir Valley's regional political entity, the People's Democratic Party, and BJP, the country's ruling party, announced on Tuesdaywhat is a historical agreement to form a partnership government in J&K". "This is the first time since independence that the Hindutva party as gained the opportunity to be in government in India's only Muslim-majority state, which lies on the boundary with Pakistan and is in the complex process of recovering from the effects of Pakistan-driven extremism and terrorism," it has also said.
Besides leading national dailies, a number of leading commentators have come out with political essays on the PDP-BJP alliance and opined that both the parties took a right decision to forge an alliance and form coalition government in the state.
Syed Ata Hasnain, former Corps Commander of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, has, for example, in his article "Why J&K needs a PDP-BJP government" (Mail today, Feb 23), has, inter-alia, said: "With the BJP victory politically-empowering Jammu, came alive the feasibility of a more integrated government with a perception of serving the interests of the two major regions - and by compulsion the interests of Ladakh…In narrow terms, the PDP has a clear mandate within the Kashmir region and the BJP in Jammu. They may be ideologically far removed in perception, but are clear that an integrated and equitable growth of both regions serves the national interest and dilutes separatism".
What these editorials in the leading national dailies and the writers like Syed Ata Hasnain have said is self-explanatory, and, hence, no need to explain what they really meant. That they have all commended the agreement only points to the fact that they want a popularly elected government in place at the earliest. |
