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| NC sticks to its controversial stand, says J-K a political issue | | Jammu Leadership | | Rustam
JAMMU, Oct 6: NC leader and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah appreciated the visiting AICC general secretary and AICC president Sonia Gandhi's son Rahul Gandhi's goodwill gestures as well as his concern for the people of Kashmir. However, he, at the same time, made it clear that though he was highly appreciated of Rahul Gandhi, he would want the latter to understand that it was imperative to address political issues of Jammu and Kashmir and that the best way would be to initiate Centre-State internal dialogue with a view to settling the unsettled Jammu and Kashmir issue.
"While we have to negotiate various challenges on development front and deal with militancy-related issues, we have to focus on addressing political issues simultaneously. Dialogue process between Centre and the State should resume like restoration of Indo-Pak talks. The initiation of Centre-State internal dialogue would also help in strengthening better State-Centre ties, unity and love between all regions of Jammu and Kashmir and permanent peace and progress in the region," he said while addressing a gathering in the presence of Rahul Gandhi.
Omar Abdullah, in effect, told Rahul Gandhi four things. One, Jammu and Kashmir was an unsettled issue. Two, New Delhi must address the Pakistani concerns in this part of Jammu and Kashmir. Three, New Delhi must start parleys with Kashmiri leadership and grant to the State maximum internal autonomy. In other words, he told Rahul Gandhi that dialogue between India and Pakistan and between New Delhi and Kashmiri leadership was necessary to end unrest in the State and harmonize Indo-Pak relations. Four, fulfilling the separatist and communal urges of the Kashmiri leadership would be the same as fulfilling the political aspirations and needs of the people of Jammu Pradesh. Accepting the Kashmiri viewpoint on the State would mean the rise of a situation which would not only help in strengthening better State-Centre ties and bringing about unity and love between all regions of Jammu and Kashmir, but would also help in forging a permanent peace and achieving progress in the region, he, as a matter of fact, suggested.
The Chief Minister's formulations were as controversial as they were provocative. That Rahul, who doesn't know anything about Jammu and Kashmir, would not contest the CM's formulations was a foregone conclusion. However, it was hoped that the Jammu-based political formations, including the BJP and the JKNPP, would lodge a strong protest against the CM and the Government that he had been heading since January 5, 2009, but nothing of this sort happened. They ignored what the Chief Minister said about India-Pakistan relations, about Centre-State relations, and, more importantly, about the very status of Jammu and Kashmir.
It was not for the first time that the Jammu leadership overlooked the controversial statements of the Chief Minister which were made on the first day of Rahul's visit to Kashmir. It had been happening for quite sometime now. That's the reason the so-called mainstream Kashmiri leaders have been successful in manipulating New Delhi, obtaining for Kashmir concession after concession and rendering the people of Jammu unreal and ineffective for all practical purposes. Will the Jammu leadership rise to the occasion and defeat those who have been seeking separation from New Delhi and destroying Jammu socially, economically and politically? |
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