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| Shopian deaths nearly got Omar Govt derailed | | | SANT KUMAR SHARMA
Jammu, December 22: Omar Abdullah was bracing up to take over the reins of power from his father, Dr Farooq Abdullah, in 2002. By July-August that year, it was becoming clear that if the National Conference (NC) returned to power, Dr Abdullah will not be the Chief Minister but his son.
That was not to be as the NC lost at the hustings and could win only 28 seats in the 87-member state assembly. Prior to that, the NC government led by Dr Abdullah had got several Bills passed with over two-thirds majority. Effectively therefore, the NC had lost close to 20 seats in 2002 polls which it had won in 1996.
Over six years later, the NC failed to improve its electoral tally in the assembly in the elections held towards the year-end last year. Its bete noire, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), improved its tally by five and touched 21 (as against 16 in the 2002 elections).
The estrangement of Congress stalwart Ghulam Nabi Azad and PDP founder Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, and a fractured mandate, combined with a reduced Congress tally, ensured that the PDP stayed out of power.
In the run-up to the 2008 elections, speculation was rife that the Central leadership of the Congress (read Sonia Gandhi) may force her party leaders in J&K to again align with the PDP, post-polls. That situation was averted as the combined tally of the PDP (21 MLAs) and the Congress (17 MLAs) was less than 44, a magical figure in J&K assembly for staking claim to form the government.
In 2002, the NC had to be warm up the opposition benches with a tally of 28 but the same number of MLAs in 2008 were enough to catapult Omar into the hot seat. After a lot of hectic behind-the-scenes negotiations, Omar became the chief minister on January 5, 2009. He took oath along with 10 other cabinet ministers, five each drawn from the Congress and the NC.
Ennui set in almost immediately as the tug-of-war between the NC and the Congress, plus the parliamentary elections, ensured that the ministry was not expanded. The frustration and anger among the Congress leaders awaiting inclusion in the ministry had to be seen to be believed. Not that the NC bigwigs were happier.
Between January and July this year, the young CM was often given generous reviews in the media. A positive press also meant that he raised hopes among the masses but it will be some time before a verdict can be pronounced on his performance.
The death of two women in south Kashmir district of Shopian in May-end was an event that can undoubtedly be called the event of the year 2009 in Jammu & Kashmir. Just as the Amarnath land row fell Ghulam Nabi Azad, the massive agitation in the Kashmir valley after the twin deaths threatened to devour Omar government. Even as the government has survived, it was nearly paralysed due to the agitation.
Fortunately for Omar, and the NC-Congress coalition, things somewhat stabilised later. Sanity seems to have returned but the clean chit given by the CBI to state police officers earlier this month has again stoked the dying embers in Kashmir.
The residents of Shopian harbour deep antipathy for the Abdullahs as they believe that they were denied their due by the dynasty. Pulwama was made the district, and Shopian denied the honours, almost three decades ago.
The most suitable place to start an agitation against the Abdullahs was thus indeed Shopian and so it happened after the twin deaths. It is widely believed in the Valley that the two women were raped and murdered, despite official claims to the contrary.
The launch of an employment scheme on December 5, the birth anniversary of the founder of Abdullah dynasty, Sher-i-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, drove a wedge between the Congress and the NC. The scheme, named after the Sheikh, is considered a sleight of hand by the Congress ministers, legislators and supporters et al.
The Congress ministers now talk about the surprises Omar has sprung on them, time and again, and that does not bode well for governance, and thereby the masses. The turf war to expand their respective spheres of influence, and voters, will continue between the Congress and the NC for the next five years or till they part. For the gallery though, the two coalition partners will break into mutual applaud every now and then.
Pertinently and ominously, we must remember that no coalition has completed its tenure in J&K till date. If the present one does, it will be a new record.
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