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| Who is Aslam, by the way? | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
Jammu, July 12: The Congress headquarters in New Delhi is peeved over a one-liner letter that dropped out of its fax machine Saturday evening. Leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in a state where they are ruling in partnership, going to media with his resignation from post and saying “I will consult my people on continuing relations with party”, is not a small political disaster by any means. Who is this Choudhary Mohammad Aslam, by the way, who risked his head dashing against the wall?
“Aslam was deeply annoyed but the decision to resign from CLP was purely in cold blood, it was not in a fit of rage and he is happy to have done it”, says a close associate of MLA Surankote and former Speaker of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly who also remained Minister for Finance and Education and also the President of State Congress. What Congress did with Aslam was not quite unprecedented. Last year Ghulam Rasool Kar, carrying almost same profile as that of Aslam, resigned from party to contest election from Sopore constituency when party denied him ticket. Kar was hurt and parted ways. Aslam is also hurt, he has lodged a protest but is in no mood to part ways with ‘Indira’s Congress’ as he takes it. What makes Aslam’s case different is a wider question of how a community reacts to a blatant humiliation and how a party like Congress pursues the philosophy of its brand of secularism.
When 2008 assembly results poured out, Aslam emerged as the senior-most of the 17 Congress legislators, of course after Ghulam Nabi Azad. Even the naïve had expected the Congress to make him Deputy Chief Minister for the logic, justice and reasons of regional balance. Issue was, however, decided by the Congress by a yardstick which it has always accused the BJP of wielding. Tara Chand became the Deputy Chief Minister. There is no scope of prejudice as his rising to the position became a matter of pride for the region Congress sees as Jammu. Of course, the decision instilled confidence among Scheduled Castes and which needs to appreciated.
Congress has left even the students of politics grappling in dark to understand its model of secularism when applied to Jammu region. Neither the seniority, loyalty, acumen, experience nor the logic has worked in this case.
Aslam’s association with Mufti Mohammad Sayeed goes far back. In the earlier years of this decade, when Aslam was thrown by the Congress in complete political wilderness and Peoples Democratic Party was instilling hope, sources said Mufti once caught him wandering. Mufti stopped his cavalcade and took Aslam along to his residence. Onlookers took it as a courtesy gesture. Sources, however, said that Aslam was offered honourable post and position in the party and government. “He said, I can’t part ways with Indira’s Congress”. A politician privy to the development remarked today, “now take it from Indira’s Congress”.
“The region, Aslam comes from is largely hurt and his community of shepherd Gujjars is humiliated”, says Haji Shamsher Boken, a social activist in Poonch as reports suggested that thousands of people on Sunday blocked Jammu-Poonch highway at various points at Surankote, Poonch and Mendar areas of Poonch and Rajouri Districts of Jammu region , in protest against non inclusion of veteran Gujjar leader Aslam in the council of Ministers.
The people including women protesting against the party decision, came out of their houses early in the morning and staged demonstrations at the Surankote Chowk connecting Rajouri-Poonch highway.Later a protest demonstration was held at Poonch. The Mehnder Twon was also “Bandh” and people protested against Pardesh Congress Committee.
During the day long protests, the vehicular moment in the various areas of Poonch - Rajouri and the passengers Buses on way to Jammu had to wait till 3:30 pm as no traffic was allowed to pass the Surankote, Mehnder crossing by the people.
Choudhary Bashir Poswal, Ch.Mohammad Amin Qammar, Rashid Kalas addresses protester at Surankote and urged UPA President Sonia Gandhi to induct Ch Aslam into the Councils of Minister. Taking extreme view of neglect at the hands of the senior congress leaders and party high command Ch Mohd Aslam on Saturday resigned from the post of leader of the congress legislature party in the state assembly.
The senior congress leader who was first made pro term speaker was earlier left out at the time of government formation in January and again on Saturday when his name did not figure in the final list of congress men inducted in the Omar Abdullah’s council of ministers he chose to resign from the post of CLP leader.
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