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| Prolonged stand off brings governance to grinding halt | | | Early Times Special Correspondent
Jammu | Oct 16
Starting with bang, Azad is feared to end in whimper
Prolonged stand off between the Congress and the PDP has brought the governance in the state to a grinding halt, with important decisions need be taken at the cabinet level being put off indefinitely, as a result of non holding of the cabinet meeting. Besides some transfers and postings at the higher level, which require cabinet approval and as a precedent are taken before the bi annual Darbar move, cabinet sanction to some projects is getting inordinate delay.
While both the Congress and the PDP are fast losing their credibility in the public estimation and their failure to have smooth saving of the coalition government staring at their faces, it is the capability and capacity of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to run the coalition government and have smooth functioning, which is more at stake. Azad, who had started his innings as Chief Minister of the multi-party coalition government in the state with bang about two years ago, is feared to end up in whimper. Carrying his verbal campaign of crusade against corruption in the administration as well as in the political sphere, which had raised high hopes among the people at large, is slowly and gradually losing the heat and proving to be a hoax, with the same not being carried to its logical culmination. The initial euphoria with the Chief Minister taking some drastic steps by empowering the anti corruption organization of the state as well as booking some highly corrupt but well trenched officers in the government, with their properties and assets, earned through unfair means and disproportionate to their known source of income, getting confiscated, has waned with the war on corruption falling short of bringing in its net some highly powerful bureaucrats as well as the politicians.
The dragging of feet by Azad and his indecision with regard to taking action against a powerful minister having full backing of the PDP high ups, whose involvement in the forest scam is reported to have been prima-facie establish by the B R Kundal enquire panel, appointed for the purpose, has put a big question mark on the credibility of the Chief Minister. So much so that even a week after the contents of the report, establishing the involvement of the minister in question and some high bureaucrats, leaked out to the media and even after the report has been submitted to the Chief Minister, the same is not made public officially. Dithering on the part of the Chief Minister to make the same public, fearing it leading to political upheaval and further confrontation with the main coalition partner of the Congress, is only betraying weakness of Mr. Azad, in the estimation of the public at large. Having not taken any action earlier against some ministers in his own party about whom their were reports of involvement in unfair and corrupt practices, Azad it is believed, is fearing the backlash of making public the Kundal enquiry report, not to speak of taking any action on the same.
The fresh revelations brought to fore about the involvement of some present and former ministers and other politicians, the name of Transport Minister Hakeem Mohammad Yassin, toping the list is proving yet another Achilles heel for the Chief Minister, who has not been able to muster the courage and show guts to take appropriate action in the matter. While the PDP has already suspended their senior party leader, from his post after his name surfacing in the sex scandal and the High Court asking the CBI to carry its probe to the logical culmination by interrogating these persons and holding fair enquiry into their involvement, thus putting the ball in the court of Azad for taking similar action against the Congress leaders as well as the PDF President, Hakeem Yassim, who has always stood solidly behind the Congress and is oppose to the PDP.
Some important decisions which need to be taken soon and which are being inordinately delayed, include holding of Panchayat elections, by election to the Poonch assembly constituency, vacated due to the death of NC member, Mr. Jan elected in 2002 assembly elections and the announcement of the next Chief Secretary, as the present incumbent on the post is retiring at the year end. The state government, it is leant, has not yet made its recommendation by sending any name or panel of names with priority list, to the Union government, whose approval in the matter is essential.
Rebutting the allegations of indecision and weakness on the part of Ghulam Nabi Azad in taking bold decision, the circles close to him present the alibi of a coterie in the Congress High Command making every effort to sabotage the actions taken by Ghulam Nabi Azad to clean the Augean Stables in the state government as well as his dealings with the main coalition partner PDP and its supreme leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. This coterie is alleged of poisoning the ears and mind of Congress President Sonia Gandhi against Azad, as well as projecting Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as the best bet to deliver goods in J&K and constantly advising or ill advising the UPA Chairperson as well as the Prime Minister of keeping the Mufti and his daughter in good humour even if in the process Azad is cut to size and his credibility gets eroded. Besides this, in defense of Ghulam Nabi Azad and his inability to take action against some Congress ministers and leaders, who are in the thick of controversy, their deep in roads and close rapport with the Congress High Command is sited. |
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