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| Opposition parties, Congress allowed NC to go scot-free | | Semi-Independence for J&K | | Rustam
Jammu, Dec 12: Neither the so-called ultra-nationalist BJP nor the so-called pro-Jammu and pro-India JKNPP has reacted to the NC resolution that advocated autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir more than 96 hours ago. Nobody would believe that the "think-tanks' of the BJP and the JKNPP did not know that the NC adopted divisive resolution in Jammu city itself. For, almost all the local dailies gave prominent place to what the NC suggested as a solution to the so-called Kashmir problem. In fact, it was believed in Jammu by many that both these parties would react sharply and take on the NC leadership for its insistence on a demand that had the potential of facilitating another communal partition of the country and enslaving the people of Jammu and Ladakh or sealing their fate for all the times to come. A strong reaction was expected from these parties all the more because only two days before the NC adopted this and six other resolutions, including the one on the AFSPA, their candidates had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the NC and Congress candidates in the Legislative Council elections held on December 3. Not only the coalition candidates, but even the candidates of the Valley-based PDP, which stands for self-rule for the State, had secured more votes, as compared to the BJP and the JKNPP candidates. In other words, the Kashmir-based parties, plus the Congress which practically represents Kashmir in Jammu, had relegated the BJP and the JKNPP to third and fourth place in a province known as their core constituency. These parties had, it may be noted, won 14 seats in the 2008 Assembly elections, one more than the Congress party.
That the BJP and the JKNPP, which hitherto used to issue press statements on a daily basis, have not till date reacted to the NC demand could be construed as their utter failure to identify them with the people of Jammu region. Majority of the people of this region were not really very happy with the victory of the coalition candidates for the simple reason that the ruling coalition had consistently failed them and jeopardized their legitimate rights and interests. This does not mean that they were happy with the BJP and the JKNPP either. They were not happy with these two parties as well. For, they had, according to them, failed to discharge their obligations towards their Jammu constituency. Still, however, there was some hope that the leadership of these two parties would learn lesson from the humiliating defeat which their candidates suffered and start playing the role of an effective and responsible opposition, as also as champions of integration and empowerment of the politically neglected and economically marginalized Jammu region, but it was not to be. The leadership of both the parties did issue a few statements, but none of these statements took on the NC. The BJP and the JKNPP only accused the ruling coalition of violating model code of conduct and misusing official machinery to ensure the victory of its candidates. In other words, instead of appreciating the real causes of their defeat, they indulged in petty politics without realizing that such an approach would not help them hold their own against the canny NC and Congress leadership. As for the Congress, less said the better. It is no more than an extension of the NC.
One thing is very clear: If the BJP and the JKNPP are to remain relevant in Jammu, they have to acknowledge their mistakes and work very hard to win over the Jammu electorate. They can win over their confidence. They have to convince their constituency that they would do all that they could to defeat the protagonists of autonomy and defend and promote further the cause of the people of Jammu region. |
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