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| Has CM finally raised his hands? | | AFSPA | | Rustam
JAMMU, Nov 6: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah yesterday made a significant statement on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). What was that statement? Addressing media persons after reopening of the Durbar offices at Civil Secretariat in the State's winter capital, Jammu, he, among other things, said: "AFSPA will go. But when, I cannot tell, for no deadline has been set at this stage".
Read the statement carefully and see for yourself the difference between what he said this year and last year. Last year, he had announced in Srinagar that he will revoke AFSPA before the Durbar move offices reopened In Jammu. He had made this statement unilaterally. The JKPCC president Saif-ud-Din had taken exception to his statement and criticized him saying the Chief Minister did not bring him on board before making a policy statement. However, it appeared to some that time that the Chief Minister meant what he said and that the revocation of the AFSPA was round the corner.
However, neither the Army nor the Union Home Ministry appreciated the statement made by the Chief Minister. In fact, the Army and many in the Union Home Ministry reportedly opposed the Chief Minister's demand saying it was fraught with dangerous ramifications. Only recently, even the newly-appointed Union Home Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde, expressed himself against those demanding revocation or even partial withdrawal of the AFSPA. His view was that the time was not yet opportune for revoking the AFSPA.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has, it now appears, finally realized that New Delhi will never oblige him by accepting his demand and that it would be politically wise not to raise the pitch. The fact that he said that "no deadline has been set at this stage" for the revocation or even its partial withdrawal from certain peaceful areas of the state speaks for itself and clearly suggests that his attitude towards the issue, which he held very dear, has undergone a radical change. One can understand his compulsions. One of the compulsions obviously is that he wants to complete full term in office by keeping everyone in New Delhi in good humour. How else should one interpret what could be described as his complete U-turn?
What the change in the attitude of Omar Abdullah is not at all surprising. Sheikh Abdullah, his grandfather, had done so in 1974-1975 to regain the lost position. Farooq Abdullah, his father, party president and Union Minister Farooq Abdullah did so umpteen times to remain in the good books of New Delhi and enjoy power unhindered. The change in the attitude of Omar Abdullah needs to be viewed in this context. For power, he can also make any compromise, any adjustment and readjustment.
However, it would be only fair to say that the Chief Minister has done well to dilute his stand on the AFSPA, which the Army need the most to defeat the scourge of terrorism. |
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