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| It is self-rule versus greater autonomy in pre-poll campaign | | | Gareeb Dass
Jammu | June 8
Though over five months are left for the Assembly poll the pre-election campaign is getting hotter day by day with catchy slogans,promises and assurances being dished out by several political leaders. Nothing bad about it.But the way politicians have started levelling allegations against one another seems to charm one segment of people and confuse the other side.To the National Conference leadership the ideas,slogans and assurances being made by the PDP are "hollow."The PDP treats the National Conference as the source of all prevailing ills,whether they be economic,political or security related, which continue to pleague Jammu and Kashmir.The Panthers Party and the BJP treat not only the NC and the PDP but also the congress responsible for the current level of poverty,backwardness and political chaos in the state.
While leaders of one party promises to create jobs for over one lakh those belonging to the rival organisation assures people that once voted to power they will arrange one-job for each family in the state.The National Conference leadership has gone to the extent of promising unemployment allowance to the educated youths till they get jobs.The Congress promises phenominal development in the sectors of health,education,agriculture,industry and what not.The National Conference leadership possibly does not remember that when it headed the state Governments it greeted protesting unemployed youth with police lathis and not with either jobs or with unemployment allowance.The BJP leadership promises to work for the abrogation of Article 370 and complete integration of the state with the rest of the country.It seems to have lost sight of the fact that when Atal Behari Vajpayee was the external Affairs Minister during the Janata Party regime he had,during his visit to Srinagar,stated that the Janata Party,that had roots in the erstwhile Jana Sangh,does no longer favour abrogation of Article 370.When reminded that he used to sing loudly in favour of scrapping Article 370 he quipped "now I am in power.When I had opposed retention of Article 370 I was in the opposition."
And if such has been the case of leaders like Vajpayee why should then one blame a few Kashmiri leaders who,when out of power,question the irrevocability of the state's accession with India ?Why should they be blamed if,in power,they believe in the finality of the accession.For about 22 years Sheikh Abdullah had questioned the irrevocability of accession and the same Sheikh,after regaining power in 1975,used to say he never disputed the state's accession but simply questioned its quantum.And from the quantum theory has emerged the NC's demand for greater autonomy and PDP's demand for self-rule.The self-rule concept and the greater autonomy slogans are two faces of the same coin.But politicians have the gift of the gab and they coin expression in such a way as raise the level of confusion among people.In the pre-poll fight between the PDP and the National conference the Congress seems to have no juicy slogan except for promising better roads,irrigation,electricity and drinking water system.It also has the permission to promise more job avenues.Leaders of these political parties know that there is no harm in using tools of different types for wooing the voters.The PDP leadership knows that its self-rule idea is a "doosra" in its hand which can uproot the wickets of the National Conference.The latter firmly believes that its slogan of greater autonomy can help its team hitting sixers and fours to win the poll trophy.The BJP is of the opinion that one flag,one constitution and one head of the state can help it trounce both the PDP and the National Conference.
The Panthers Party leadership pins its hopes on antiincumbency factor forgetting that Jammu and Kashmir has a political tradition totally different from other states in the country.The party that aims at regaining power has to speak soft on Pakistan.The party that is keen to get absolute majority in the Assembly has to use bitter words against the "colonial"attitude of the centre.This is the trick of the trade which the National Conference and the PDP have mastered over the years.
The power thirsty Dr Farooq and his son,Omar Abdullah,Mufti Mohd.Sayeed and his daughter,Ms Mehbooba,have been facing sultry weather in Jammu region where,in recent weeks,they were seen shuttling between the winter capital and other district headquarters for wooing voters.The Congress leadership continues to bank on development and job oriented schemes.It is this connection that it has added 15 more members to the Subordinate services Selection Board for making the fast recruitment boards at the District headquarters completing their task ahead of the schedule.These boards have sent the list to the headquarters and from June 16 the interviews were going to be held so that before the poll schedule was announced the Government could claim to have given jobs to several thousand educated youths.
And for the valley centric mainstream political parties there is no inhibition for trying to hijack the separatists agenda by laying emphasis on the utility of resolving the Kashmir issue through sustained talks between India and Pakistan.This game is on till the refree blows its whistle. |
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