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| Omar digging dead issues during electioneering | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Apr 28: If Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, is trying to rake up old and extraneous issues during the ongoing election campaign he cannot be faulted. Infact digging bodies from the old graves continues to be part of electioneering in India whether during the Assembly and the Lok Sabha elections. Congress has started raking up Gujarat riots after 12 years and the BJP has started talking about killing of Sikhs in 1984 in Delhi.
Omar Abdullah's mind seems to have been hit by a political incident or event that took place in 1984 in Kashmir when during the last one month of electioneering he had not hit upon that idea. He talked about the mischief behind the toppling of the duly elected Government led by Farooq Abdullah in 1984. And as was expected from him, as he and his party are engaged in a tough battle with the PDP in the three constituencies in the Kashmir valley, Omar has accused PDP patron, Mufti Mohd. Sayeed, for engineering defections within the National Conference that led to the fall of Farooq Abdullah led Government. Omar has stated that it was with the support of the Congress that Farooq's brother-in-Law, G.M. Shah, formed the Government. He holds the Mufti responsible for sowing the seeds of hatred and fissures within the Abdullah dynasty as since 1984 Farooq and his sister, Khalida Shah, have not been on the same page.
Yes in 1984 Mufti Sayeed was in the Congress and headed the organisation. At the same time it was not his plan to dislodge the Farooq led Government by engineering defections within the National Conference. Infact the plan had been conceived in New Delhi by the top functionaries of the AICC in which Indira Gandhi played the pivotal role. The PCC leaders, including the Mufti, had to act as facilitators of the plan to oust Farooq Abdullah. The top Congress functionaries had been dismayed, rather insulted, by the anti-Centre and anti-Congress stance adopted by Farooq Abdullah while campaigning for the Assembly election in 1983.
It was the first election to be held under the Chief Ministership of Farooq Abdullah. Hence the election was a litmus test for the leadership quality of Farooq and of his hold on the party cadre and on people. He was told that in case he was to guide the National Conference to victory in the election he has to build anti-Centre and anti-Congress hysteria in Kashmir. And worst of all some NC workers were seen having lowered their pyjamas in Iqbal park in Srinagar where Indira Gandhi was addressing an election rally. The incident was taken as a personal affront by Indira Gandhi. And after 1984 Farooq has never challenged the party or parties that are in power in the Centre. His mantra is that to ensure survival of a duly elected Government in Jammu and Kashmir the state and the Centre have to be on the same page.
Has Omar Abdullah the guts to blame Indira Gandhi for dislodging the Farooq led Government in Jammu and Kashmir in 1984 by engineering defections within the National Conference ?Possibly not because there is a pre-poll alliance between the NC and the Congress. In addition to this the Congress vice-president, Rahul Gandhi, who has lent support to Omar Abdullah from time to time, thereby ensuring his success in heading the Government for the full term of six years, may not relish a word against his grandmother. And surprisingly the top NC leaders have not openly held the Congress high command responsible for the 1984 political event.
Finding the NC's going a bit tough in the current elections because of serious challenge from the PDP Omar has dragged Mufti Sayeed's name in the 1984 controversy. Instead of blaming Mufti Sayeed Omar should have accused G.M. Shah, son-in-Law of Sheikh Abdullah and 12 other NC MLAs for defecting from the parent body which had led to the fall of the Farooq Abdullah led Government. Omar seems to be ignorant of the political developments in Kashmir between 1980 and 1982.
In 1980 Sheikh Abdullah installed Farooq Abdullah has NC President to the chagrin of G.M. Shah. Again Indira Gandhi had intervened to assist Farooq to become the Chief Minister after the demise of Sheikh Abdullah in 1982 when G.M. Shah was getting ready for the "coronation." These two developments had left Shah an angry man waiting for an opportunity for striking against Farooq and the Congress gave him this opportunity in 1984. This way Omar needs to blame Shah and his supporters instead of the Mufti. |
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