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| Regionalism within Cabinet: It is better to divide Jammu and Kashmir | | |
RUSTAM
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, May 3: These are only some of the glaring instances which establish that there are fundamental differences in the approach being adopted by the Jammu-based and Kashmir-based minister towards issues relating to Kashmir and Jammu. They Chief Minister and the Congress stalwarts would surely downplay these differences to create an impression among the public that all is well with the Cabinet and government. In fact, they have been saying so on occasions and asserting that the National Conference-Congress coalition government would complete its full term. But the fact still remains that there are serious differences between the Jammu-based and Kashmir-based ministers and that it is not that easy to put them on the same page as far as the governance in the state is concerned.
At the same time, however, it has to be acknowledged that the prime reason behind these differences between the Jammu-based and Kashmir-based ministers is their political compulsion. The Jammu-based Congress ministers cannot afford to give any opportunity to the people of Jammu province to believe that it is the Kashmir-based ministers who are playing the shots not only in the Valley but also in the Jammu province and that they are there in the Council of ministers to help the Kashmir-based ministers implement their Kashmir-centric agendas, as also help them establish their control over the civil and police administration in the Jammu province. They cannot afford a situation that shrinks their support-base in Jammu.
Similarly, the Kashmir-based ministers, including the Chief Minister, cannot afford to give any opportunity to the people of Kashmir to believe that they are just not able to carry the day or formulate and implement policies, which, according to them, appear to be guided by the Jammu interests. Besides, the Kashmir-based ministers, including the Chief Minister, are compelled by the kind of politics the people's Democratic Party has been indulging in for quite some time now in Kashmir to prove that it is not the party of the Muftis that is alive to the needs and compulsions of the people of Kashmir but it is the National Conference that has the power and capacity to deliver in Kashmir and come up to the expectations of the people of the Valley. It is basically the urge or political compulsion of these two parties to compete with each and let down and corner each other on each and every issue, including the Kashmir issue. The basic objective of both these parties is to grab the each other's political space and come to power and retain control over it at any cost.
What both these parties did in Kashmir to clarify their stands on the PRC and inter-district recruitment issues is a typical example indicating their political compulsions and, hence, the need to take recourse to the politics of one-upmanship in Kashmir and also to create an impression in the Valley that they have the required ability and capability to become an important factor in the political situation in Jammu province. It is not necessary to reflect on the second aspect of the compulsion of the Kashmir-based ministers and the main opposition People's Democratic Party. For, everyone is aware of the nature of relations between the two provinces - Kashmir and Jammu. Suffice it to say that a psychological war has been going on between these two provinces since October 1947 and the reason behind the war is the determination of the people of Jammu province to link their political and economic destinies with New Delhi and the determination of the Kashmiri leadership to seek a dispensation out of New Delhi.
The case in point is the glaring contradictions in the political perceptions of the people of Jammu province and their leaders and the Kashmiri leaders, without any exception. The Kashmir-based political leaders, without any exception, make statements almost everyday on the human rights situation in Kashmir, Indo-Pak relations, Centre-State relations, army and paramilitaries, anti-terror laws and so on. The Jammu-based Congress ministers seldom make any statement in public on any such issues. They discuss these matters directly with the party high command and the Union Government and tell them that to go by what the Kashmir-based ministers and leaders say and demand would be only to erode the party's support-base in the Jammu province.
The truth, in short, is that there is nothing that is common between the Jammu-based ministers and Kashmir-based ministers and that the council of ministers is nothing but a body consisting of disparate elements who fight in the Cabinet meeting on each and every issue and see to it that their long-term interests in their respective constituencies are not jeopardized. Why should New Delhi allow such a situation to perpetuate? Why should New Delhi allow a situation to develop where working of the government is hampered that only adds to the woes and difficulties of the common people? It would be better if New Delhi divide Jammu and Kashmir. Division of Jammu and Kashmir would mean end on inter-regional bitterness, better coordination, smooth and purposeful Cabinet meeting, quick decisions, better governance and focused attention on the needs and compulsions of Kashmir as well as Jammu. This is a better choice and it needs to be exercised not only by New Delhi but also be the Jammu-based and Kashmir-based leaders. (Concluded) |
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