II Stark Reality II
Rustam
JAMMU, Aug 12: On August 12, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, instead of acknowledging that his administration failed to discharge its duty and protect the minority community from anti-social and anti-national elements, charged the BJP with politicizing the Kishtwar issue and declared that he will not allow any political leader to visit the affected area for an on the spot assessment of the situation. He said the BJP and other parties were trying to exploit the situation for vote bank politics, as the general election and assembly elections are approaching and asserted that he will not allow any political party to take political mileage out of the Kishtwar issue.
The state government did not allow senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley to move out of the Jammu Airport on August 11 and deported him to New Delhi from where he had come to visit Kishtwar. The government did subvert democracy and civil liberties by not allowing Jaitley to visit Kishtwar.
PDP president and Leader of Opposition in the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly Mehbooba Mufti wanted to visit Kishtwar, but she was not allowed to move out of her house in Srinagar. BJP MP and in-charge of Jammu & Kashmir BJP Avinash Khanna wanted to visit Jammu and Kishtwar, but he was detained the moment he entered the state from Madhopur (Punjab). All this happened on August 11.
The state government, which, it appears, wanted to hide the facts, had acted in an undemocratic manner a day before as well. A BJP delegation wanted to visit Kishtwar, but was detained at Kud. A VHP delegation also wanted to visit the affected district, but it also met the same fate. The state government not only detained and disallowed the BJP, the VHP and the PDP leaders to visit the trouble spot on spurious grounds, but also blocked internet service and imposed curfew across the region. In fact, the state government did all that it could to impose restrictions on the civil liberties of the people.
All the knee-jerk actions taken by the state government on August 9, when the fully equipped rioters struck in Kishtwar in a big way, only suggest that it has lost the way, lost grip over the administration and is so afraid and alarmed that it doesn't have the guts to face the reality. It has only weakened its authority by acting in the manner it has bee acting since August 9. It should not have restrictions on civil liberties. Instead, it should have acted in a transparent manner so that the people knew the truth. By not doing so, it has only created a situation that has made BJP leadership accuse the Chief Minister of "hiding the truth and his failure". |
