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| Omar's Ireland solution: Congress' silence intriguing | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Nov 1: It was four days that National Conference working president and Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed the view that the "State can never be independent and will always remain under Indian sovereignty", that "Britain's Northern Ireland peace process and devolution in Scotland could 'inspire' a future settlement", that Jammu & Kashmir is "landlocked and lacks natural resources", and, hence, cannot become independent. He had also said: "But the peace process in Northern Ireland and the devolution in Scotland could 'inspire' a future settlement in which 'sovereignty is not threatened but you recognize the nationalist sentiment that exists and you evolve that". He had expressed these divisive and provocative views during an interview to the United Kingdom leading newspaper, Telegraph. In 1998 that London and Northern Ireland had clinched a deal over power-sharing government after prolonged violence and the devolution in Scotland under which London established a Scottish Parliament invested with powers to make laws on various issues.
The views of Omar Abdullah have evoked strong reaction in Kashmir as well as Jammu for different reasons. In Kashmir, the separatists rejected the suggestion of Omar Abdullah, with the likes of Syed Ali Shah Geelani saying they will not accept anything short of right to self-determination. In Jammu, a number of political groups, including Panthers Party, rejected the solution as suggested by Omar Abdullah.
Interestingly, not a single Congress leader either in Jammu & Kashmir or in New Delhi has uttered a single word against Omar Abdullah. The silence of the Congress has raised many questions with many observers suggesting that the "Congress's silence means covert support of the party to the Omar Abdullah's highly divisive solution". They say "by maintaining silence the Congress has given a dangerous respectability to the NC's divisive politics, apart from emboldening the Kashmiri separatists of al hues". So much so, they have opined that "the Congress party is directly and indirectly encouraging Omar Abdullah and his ilk to create serious problems for New Delhi in Kashmir" and that "had the Congress party even once exercised its authority Omar Abdullah would never had made divisive statements".
The Congress party needs to clear its stand on Jammu,Kashmir and Ladakh. A definite statement from the Congress would be in the interest of the party, the people of the state and the country as a whole. |
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