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| A big question mark on Hari Om's home coming | | | Early Times Reporter
Jaamu | Sep 18
The coming back to home by the estranged J&K state BJP Vice President and spokesman only a month after his walking out, has not surprised the observers here. In his very statement, citing personal reasons for retiring from active politics, due to his over occupation in academic assignments, Hari Om had left an escape route for his becoming reactive in issuing statements and holding briefings for the media. Unlike his previous exit from the party few years ago, when the working Jammu University teacher, Prof Hari Om had leveled serious charges on the functioning of the party and conduct of its leaders in J&K, this time his walk out was quite restrained and in low key. He also remained lip tight during his brief self exile from the party, taking utmost care to avoid any controversy, lest the scope for his comeback is sealed or gets complicated. As was mentioned in an earlier news analysis by the Early Times special correspondent, Prof Hari Om had distanced himself from the party due to his feeling of suffocation as a result of incompatibility with the incumbent State Party President and the latter denying him free hand in handling party's media relations and projection of BJP's policies and programs in Jammu and Kashmir in particular and in the country in general.
Hari Om, who was re-inducted in the party by his junior in the History Department in the Jammu University, Dr. Nirmal Singh, when the latter was elected as President of the Pradesh Unit of BJP, on the support of RSS, its J&K incharge Indresh kumar to be more precise, was given free hand to handle party's media relations and hold daily briefings for the newsmen, as the sole spokesmen of the party. Although Ashok Khajuria after his induction as President of J&K Unit of BJP courtesy the then incharge of the party affairs in J&K, Arun Jaitly, reluctantly restored Vice Presidentship to Hari Om, to present a façade of unity in the party, but deprived him of the sole right to deal with the media and issue party statements and hand outs. With a view to cut Om to size, two insignificant party activists were appointed as co spokespersons, thus denying Hari Om a free hand. Though the party's intellectual face pocketed this humiliation, but with reservation, of which he gave ample outlet by not resuming his duty for quite a long and remaining conspicuously absent by not issuing any statement, press release or briefing the press on behalf of the party unit. It was only after the persuasion of few friends in the party, mainly the out gone President that Hari Om started working as co media incharge of the party, but lacking the past vigour and enthusiasm in issuing a press release or two daily and holding press briefing almost every second day.
However it is far from certain that with the coming back home of the strange family member will be like the return of the prodigal son and that the party functioning in J&K will be smooth hence forthwith. The assertion by the President of state unit of the Party, who announced about differences with Hari Om having been sorted out, with the intervention of the incharge BJP affairs in J&K, former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and ex Union Cabinet Minister, Shanta Kumar, Khandelwal and a party National General Secretary, will be taken with a pinch of salt by the close observers of the BJP functioning in this state. There are remote chances of Hari Om pulling up and working without feeling suffocation in the present setup of the BJP in the state, with its chief lacking in stature, status and competence, to hold the stock together and project the party unit as an effective opposition in the state. With the scope for the party to let its leaders elected to the state assembly being very limited—the party even its hay days could not get elected more than 7 to 8 members to the state assembly---and thus having no chance to get inducted any of its leader in the Upper House, on the basis of its strength in the Lower House, no intellectual or ideologue who has no constituency of his own and no factional support in the party, foresees any political prospects. With the culture of those expressing their independent views and not remaining stuck to the dogma being looked askance, it is doubtful if Prof Om's come back will last quite long. With even respect and place of dignity denied to those having foresight and independent thinking mind, joining the party rarely feel at ease, particularly in the present party setup in J&K. In this context Prof. Hari Om shall have to choose between remaining a party loyalist and expressing his views, which are even at slight variation from the party line, even if the same are expressed by in his assumed name of Dost Khan, appearing almost daily in a local English newspaper.
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