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| PRC Issue: Congress defensive, Opposition offensive | | |
RUSTAM
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Mar 15: The Jammu and Kashmir J&K) unit of Congress party is in serious trouble. It is at the receiving end. The reason is that the Congress Revenue Minister, Raman Bhalla, allowed the introduction of anti-daughters’ private member’s bill (J&K Permanent Resident (Disqualification) Bill) in the Legislative Council on March 8, the 100th International Women’s Day. The pernicious Bill, moved by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), aims at snatching all the citizenship rights from the daughters of the state who have already married outside the state non-state subjects or who would marry non-state subjects in future. The Bill is retrograde and fundamentally bad by any yardstick and it has caused a stir among the right-thinking people.
Sensing the mood of the people, the Jammu-based political parties, including the J&K National Panthers Party (JKNPP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Jammu State Morcha (JSM); the Bar Association Jammu (BAJ); and a number of social groups, mostly affiliated to the RSS, are attacking the Congress party from right and left and denouncing the Congress leadership as “anti-Jammu” and “anti-women”.
The BAJ, which was the first to take the plunge, has even observed one-day strike and held one very impressive demonstration against the Congress and its coalition partner, National Conference (NC). Right now it, according to insiders, is busy in discussing ways and means that could put the Congress and the NC on the mat and lower their position in the eyes of the people. The BAJ has even gone to the extent of attacking the Jammu-based parties for remaining indifferent for several days, despite the fact that the provocation was grave. Perhaps, it pointed its fingers towards the BJP.
The JKNPP has also organized a couple of sit-ins during past three-four days and its target was the Congress. Besides, it has organized one demonstration in New Delhi. It has threatened a mass agitation in the Jammu province in case the Congress continued to hobnob with parties like the NC and the PDP in order to damage the women’s cause in the state. Its slogan, like the BAJ, is: Withdraw forthwith the anti-daughters’ Bill.
The cornered BJP has also taken the plunge. It joined the pro-daughters’ forces four days later by holding a press conference. Convinced that it committed a grave blunder by not taking the women cause at the very beginning, the BJP leadership thought it prudent to attack the Congress in particular to indicate that its attitude was no different from the BAJ and the JKNPP and organized a press conference.
The fact of the matter is that the JKNPP, the BJP, the JSM and the BAJ, besides, several socio-religious groups in Jammu, have identified themselves with the people’s sentiment. All of them are convinced that it was because of the positive attitude of the Revenue Minister that the PDP legislator could introduce the controversial private member’s bill.
They do make a point when they blame the Revenue Minister for unsettling the already settled issue. They appear all the more convincing when they accuse the Congress and the NC of not allowing them to introduce their private members’ bills, including the bills on delimitation and reservation of seats for the refugees from PoK, and joining hands with the PDP.
It is significant to note that during the past three days, the JKNPP, the BJP and the JSM have left no stone unturned to expose the Congress not only on the floor of the Assembly but also outside it. Besides, taking recourse to walkouts from the Assembly, these parties have unleashed a no-holds-barred propaganda blitz against the Congress party. It is the Congress party on their radar, not the NC, and not even the PDP. The reasons are obvious and one of the reasons is that in Jammu province the principle political rival of these parties is the Congress.
Under attack in Jammu from all sides, the Revenue Minister had to clarify his position or his stand on the controversial bill. In fact, he told the agitating legislators in the Assembly on Saturday that the introduction of the bill didn’t mean that the same had been passed and that the Congress had opposed the similar bill in August 2004 and it would oppose this bill as well, as the Congress party is committed to empowering women. He tried his best to allay the fears of the critics of the bill. Embarrassed JKPCC president Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz too has sought to resolve the fierce controversy by asserting that the bill was not on the party’s agenda. He explained the party’s stand the same day in Jammu.
It is difficult to believe that the statements made by the Congress leaders would cool the tempers in Jammu province. Only one thing can help out the Congress and that is withdrawal of the controversial bill. The bulk of the local Congress leaders and workers are of the same view. They are of the view that the party would suffer reverses in the coming local bodies’ elections in case the bill was not withdrawn. The Revenue Minister and other Congress ministers need to act without losing a single moment. They have no other option but to identify themselves with the people’s sentiment.
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