news details |
|
|
| Cornered Omar accuses EC of favouring his foes | | Writing on the wall | | Rustam
JAMMU, Oct 26: The ruling NC is passing through a very critical phase. There are political pundits who say that the NC, like the Congress, may not survive after the assembly elections. Roundly criticized NC working president and J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also holds the portfolio of Home, is fully aware of the difficulties he and his party are face to face with. The situation has climaxed to the point that practically none in the state and outside trust him.
The people of Kashmir Valley have practically abandoned the NC and they have either turned towards the PDP or looking for other options. Even the Congress, which shared state power with Omar Abdullah for almost six years, has also discarded the NC for all practical purposes.
There is no love lost between the NC and the Congress. The nature of relations between the two could be determined from the fact that while the NC vehemently opposed the suggestion of the Congress that the assembly elections should not be delayed even by a day, the Congress repeatedly urged the Election Commission not to postpone polls in view of the devastation caused by the September floods. It could also be seen from the fact that while Omar Abdullah repeatedly said that holding of elections at this point in time would hamper relief and rehabilitation work, the Congress said the formation of new government was imperative for mitigating the hardships of the flood affected people. Leave aside the resignation from the ministry of Sham Lal Sharma - an act which by many have been described as a drama of sorts or a desperate political move to win over his constituency.
As for the PDP, the main opposition party in the state, and the BJP, which is hoping to do well in the coming assembly polls, they are virtually sailing in the same boat. Both have, like the Congress, welcomed the decision of the ECI to hold the assembly polls in November-December and constitute new government by the end of this year or in January.
Significantly, the ECI overruled all the arguments advanced by the NC and on Saturday stated that the elections are possible in the state as only about 800 to 900 persons are living in camps in the Kashmir Valley and that many districts in Kashmir were not affected by the floods. It is important to note that the NC had tried to mislead the ECI by saying that over 2.5 million people were affected by the flood and holding elections on time would not be desirable. Not only this, the cornered NC leadership had also warned that there could be zero percent polling in Srinagar and if at all it happened, it would not be in the larger interest.
The fact of the matter is that no political party in J&K and the ECI trusted the NC leadership and the Omar Abdullah-led government. Now that the election schedule has been announced, Omar Abdullah instead of appreciating the decision of the election authorities accused the ECI of India of helping a party. He didn't name the party but his spokesperson Junaid Mattu on Saturday cleared the air and named the PDP. Earlier, Omar Abdullah had said that the political parties were not interested in the rehabilitation of the affected people; they were exploiting the calamity for their own political rehabilitation.
The accusation that the ECI was biased against the NC and in favour of a particular political party can be construed as a signed of its frustration. Genuine political parties and leaders of the masses never behave in the fashion the NC and Omar Abdullah behaved. It appears Omar Abdullah has read the writing on the wall. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
