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| Guru's hanging: Three Abdullahs, three voices | | Party in complete disarray | | Rustam
Jammu, Feb 12: Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah-founded premier religio-political organization of Kashmir, National Conference (NC), is down and almost out. It appears it has outlived its utility and its collapse appears almost imminent. It is not the opposition that has brought the NC to such a pass. It is the three Abdullahs - Farooq Abdullah, party president, Omar Abdullah, party vice-president and State Chief Minister, and Sheikh Mustafa Kamaal, party additional general secretary --- who have been speaking differently and contradicting each other without naming each other in the aftermath of the hanging of Afzal Guru. Contradictions among the Abdullahs are not a new phenomenon. Lust for power and contradictions among the Abdullahs go hand-in-hand.
The past three days have witnessed all the three Abdullahs treading diametrically opposite paths - also indicating no coordination between them, with Omar Abdullah trying to follow the middle path in his desperate bid to save his chair and save his communal constituency in the Kashmir valley -- where extremists of all variety and leaders of "mainstream" political parties like the Muftis have been leaving no stone unturned to blacken the faces of the Abdullahs beyond recognition and convincing the people of Kashmir that both New Delhi and the NC conspired against Kashmir and both worked in unison to the extent that "Kashmiri freedom fighter" Mohammad Afzal Guru, convicted in the Parliament attack case, was sent to the gallows on February 9.
The fact is that Omar Abdullah today stands totally isolated. On February 9, when the sinner against God and humanity, Guru, was hanged till death, Omar Abdullah had appealed to the people of Kashmir to maintain calm and not allow the situation in Kashmir to deteriorate. Making a passionate appeal, he had said: "There is certain degree of anger as the result of this execution. I understand there are amongst us those that will like to exploit the situation for their personal or political interests. I have instructed and ordered security forces to deal with the situation with the maximum restrain possible". He had expressed regret that Guru was hanged but made it quite clear that he would do all that he could to keep the situation under control. A day later, he sought to identify him with those who had attacked India and denounced the Guru's hanging and regretted that New Delhi did not allow the family members of Guru to have a last meeting with him and that the Guru's execution was a "selective" execution. He said many other controversial things which evoked a very strong reaction from the main opposition BJP, but, at the same time, made it loud and clear that he was on his job and that he was staying in Srinagar to monitor the situation in Kashmir. The BJP accused Omar Abdullah of "provoking" the situation in Kashmir and condemned his interview for having a "sympathetic chord for Guru.
The same day, his uncle and NC additional general secretary Mustafa Kamaal unleashed a vilification campaign against India and Congress party. Actually, he revolted against India which he never liked in his heart of hearts. Neither Farooq Abdullah nor Omar Abdullah acted against him for reasons best known to them. Yesterday, the emboldened Kamaal said that the NC believes that "revival of the Plebiscite Front is the best option". "This is the best option available with us if Delhi continues to push us to the wall," he was quoted as saying. (Plebiscite Front was formed by his father Sheikh Abdullah in 1955 and it was dissolved in the wake of 1975 Indira Gandhi-Sheikh Abdullah accord that brought the Sheikh back to power in the State after a long gap of 22 years.) Kamaal also denounced the Congress party saying "the Congress policy has been to embrace and stab in the back". In other words, Kamaal took a line which Omar Abdullah didn't take either on February 9 or 10 or even on February 11.
However, it was Farooq Abdullah who sounded more reasonable. He on Monday virtually took to task Omar Abdullah and Kamaal without naming them and defended to the hilt the hanging of Guru, notwithstanding his suggestion that the Guru's family should have been allowed to meet him before he was hanged. He told media persons in New Delhi that Guru was hanged according to "procedure". "Afzal Guru's mercy petition was put before President. He rejected it. The matter is over," he told reporters and added that there was no need for the NC-led Government in the state and for him to resign in the wake of the Guru's hanging. "Why should we leave the Government?...We have got a job to do. You don't leave…I have no such idea," he said. When asked by reporters what he had to say about the prevailing situation in Kashmir, Abdullah candidly said: "Ask the Chief Minister (Omar Abdullah) who is there. He knows what the state is going through".
If one goes by the statements made by the three Abdullahs, one can without hesitation say that they are at war with each other. Whether or they are behaving differently as per a strategy is not known, but even if they are conducting themselves as per a strategy, they are not doing justice to the party. In fact, they are becoming a laughing stock in the eyes of Kashmiri people and creating an environment in the state in general and Kashmir valley in particular which would ensure the demise of the NC sooner than later. However, one thing appears clear: Kamaal, like Geelani, appears to be committed as far as his hatred for India is concerned. And as for Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, they do not mind compromising their "ideology" for the sake of power and pelf. |
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