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| Recall 1981 | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, JAN 13: Mark the difference. When in 1981 Dr Farooq Abdullah was installed as President of the National Conference the entire Srinagar city had come out of its slumber to greet the young Abdullah. Men, women and children had come out on the roads right from Mujahid Manzil, the party headquarters upto the Iqbal Park to cheer Dr Abdullah. Several thousand party supporters had been seen walking on foot right from Mujahid Manzil to the Iqbal Park, a distance of over five Kilometers shouting pro-Sheikh Abdullah, pro-Farooq Abdullah and pro-National Conference slogans. That time National Conference was considered a movement and not a mere political party.
Some of the members of the Sheikh family had seated themselves in the balcony of Budshah hotel to greet Young Abdullah. As the coronation procession reached the Lal Chowk members of the Sheikh family dropped flower petals on Farooq. There were loud cheers from the crowd. In fact late G.M.Shah, son in law of Sheikh Abdullah, had expected the mantle of party Presidentship to fall on his shoulders. He had expected that Sheikh Abdullah, who loved his daughter Khalida more than any of his children, would install Shah, husband of Khalida, as the party Chief. It was this coronation of Farooq that widened the chasm between Sheikh Abdullah and Shah. This chasm further widened when Farooq Abdullah was sworn in as Chief Minister soon after the demise of Sheikh Abdullah. G.M.Shah, an able administrator and party leader, avenged his insult and defeat when he, with the help of the Congress engineered defection of 12 National Conference MLAs that led to the fall of the duly elected Government headed by Dr Farooq in 1984.
And when the same Dr Farooq Abdullah took over as President of the National Coference in Srinagar on Tuesday it was a mere party function. The interim "coronation" of Farooq as head of the National Conference was a lackluster affair. It was during the meeting of the party's working committee that Sharif Din Shariq proposed the name of Farooq Abdullah for the post of the party President which was second by Dr Mehboob Beg. The irony of the event was that the name of Dr Farooq for the post of party President was proposed and second by two party leader who had lost the recent election. While Sharif Din Shariq had lost the Langate seat, Mehboob Beg had been defeat by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in the Anantnag constituency.
When a couple of NC leaders were asked about the reason for coronation of Farooq as party President in a very simple way they said that it was a temporary arrangement till May. They said that party planned to make Farooq's coronation as party chief as a great event in May. Even if the party leaders plan to celebrate Farooq's coronation as party president it can never be a repeat of 1981.Why ?In 1981 the National Conference was a political force to reckon with. This time much water has flowed down the river Jehlum causing erosion in the strength of the NC. The birth of the PDP and the rise of militancy besides the separatists forces have robbed the National Conference of its 70-year old political shine. |
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