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| Omar’s resignation, Mehbooba’s antics tragic for J&K | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, July 28: What a dramatic day it was: Beginning with the Chief Minister, Mr Omar Abdullah, storming out of the Legislative Assembly to submit his resignation to the Governor, Mr N N Vohra, and the latter rejecting the same by late evening.
It all started after senior Peoples Democratic Party leader Muzaffar Hussein Beigh alleged in the Assembly that Omar’s name figured in the infamous Srinagar sex scandal. Reading out from some papers which he was holding, Mr Beigh went on to say that Omar’s name reportedly figured at serial no 102 in a list submitted to the Punjab & Haryana High Court.
Mr Beigh claimed that the list contained the names of those people who were suspects or under scanner in the Srinagar sex scandal. He even handed over a copy of the said list to a member of the Assembly staff for passing on the same to the Speaker.
Stunned by the allegation, and extremely annoyed, the CM then addressed the House some time later. And he dropped the bombshell at the end of his speech by declaring that he was going to the Raj Bhavan to submit his resignation.
Pandemonium broke out in the Assembly as several National Conference (NC) legislators rushed towards the CM’s seat. Some of them held him back, pleading that he should ignore the PDP’s allegations and stay on.
It was drama at its worst if one could use this term for something as serious as resignation by the Chief Minister of J&K.
It was a ding-dong battle after that with the PDP sticking to its allegations. Mr Beigh said that it was for the young CM to decide whether to resign or stay on. All his party wanted was a speedy inquiry into the Srinagar sex scandal in which many high and mighty were allegedly involved.
Mr Beigh said that his party, the PDP, had refused to give mandate for the Assembly elections to a legislator after his name figured in this list.
Action shifted from the Assembly to the CM’s Gupkar Road residence and the Raj Bhavan. Hours later, the young CM was apparently persuaded by his close aides to submit a ``conditional resignation’’.
This was apparently a compromise formula worked out as a face-saving for the CM. He submitted his resignation just as he had said that he will. Yet, he continues to be the CM as people around him wanted him to.
At the end of the day, one can say that the young CM acted in a rather emotional and immature way. He has not covered himself with glory by tendering resignation in a manner which was not meant to be a resignation, after all.
In the coming days, he will realize that his dramatic action, taken in a moment of great stress, has eroded his credibility and aura even if it has given him the moral high ground.
There are his detractors within the NC and outside who accuse him of being immature. By his actions, even if they can be termed well-intentioned, Omar has left his flanks open for the opponents to take potshots at him. They will now claim that he is ``too emotional and immature’’ for his own and by extension, the State’s good.
It must have been a tough day for the Governor, Mr N N Vohra, as he tried to make sense of what all was happening around him.
Last year, when he took charge on June 26, the PDP had already done the ground work for walking out of the coalition with the Congress. He did his best to try to bail out the Ghulam Nabi Azad government but to no avail.
As chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), Mr Vohra mixed facts with fiction while handling the land row last year. They proved to be of no avail, and PDP parted ways with Azad-led Congress to bring the government down.
Mr Vohra has been lucky this time around with the young CM as the resignation was ``conditional’’. As quickly as Omar had resigned, way out was found for his continuance in the office as well.
On Monday, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti had shocked the people of the State and the nation by hurling the mike at the Speaker, Mr Akbar Lone. Her dramatic action has not helped enhance the reputation of the State Assembly.
All-round condemnation was the reaction from most commentators as they said that Mehbooba has brought down the honour and dignity of the legislature. In her defence, Ms Mufti had claimed that she was provoked by the Speaker.
The young CM can claim that he was provoked by Mr Beigh’s allegation. In a space of two days, it can then be said that Jammu & Kashmir is being governed by provocations and reactions to the provocations.
Such tantrums may suit the NC and the opposition PDP but a sensitive state like J&K sure can’t afford such dramas. The actions of Omar as also Mehbooba can just be termed tragic even if one were to be most generous in the assessment.
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