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| These little exorbitant claims | | |
Armed with the figures of tourists arrived, militants killed and prisoners released, the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday claimed to have made a huge difference in Jammu and Kashmir in past right months. If this is the pace of ‘difference’ then in next five and half years this state can be the best place to live in the world. But is this really the reality? Past seven and half months in the state have gone in first raising hopes and then calculating the false estimates. The coalition government of the National Conference and Congress, headed by young Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was expected to bring changes at least on three fronts –minimising violations of human rights, improving the institutions of governance and bridging gaps between regions. As it already taken the Chief Minister full six months in putting a government in place, it was wrong to hope high. These columns since the beginning of this year mirror the journey from hopes to disappointments. The grace marks were, however, given for a range of reasons –that the government needed some initial time to settle down and take grips of this, that there were Lok Sabha elections and the government had very little to dispense with etc. Every such excuse is long over but the change they –the leaders of the coalition –promised is yet to take effect on the ground. Now when the government is about to complete its six months, the caption could have been only the worst. After the Lok Sabha elections one had expected Omar to galvanise all the resources for giving new dimensions to the development activities. Since the budget proposals had not been adopted by the state legislature the district development board meetings were not held. It delayed formulation of the district plans. Proper allocation of funds in other sectors was delayed and hence nothing tangible could be achieved. The Government's commitment on reducing the level of regional discrimination, resolving the problem of unemployment and finalising schemes for improving power generation and drinking water supply remained unfulfilled. One would have not expected all the promises to be fulfilled within a span of six to eight months but at least a beginning could have been made. There is a sort of confusion in the ruling alliance which is the result of inner conflict between the Congress and the National Conference. On a range of issues, the partners in the coalition differ. The bureaucracy is faced with a dilemma. Until recently, the bureaucracy has been feeling sandwiched between Omar Abdullah, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and the Union Renewable Energy Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah and PCC president Saif-ud-Din Soz. However, in past month and half, the Congress leadership has smoothened the way by restricting Azad to Delhi. It is high time when Omar asserted his authority so that no other political leader is able to build a parallel Government. The Chief Minister is young and he has a long way to go. It is time that he restructured his political and administrative strategies to earn confidence of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
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