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| How Azad failed as CM and JKPCC chief | | |
If Azad's active role in J&K politics has to be traced, it is widely known that the Congress high command sent him in capacity of JKPCC chief in November 2005 to not only lead the coalition government but also to strengthen the Congress party in the state. The AICC president took this decision on the ground that Azad had the required leadership qualities and that he would be able to give a good government to the people of the state, harmonize inter-regional relations and strengthen the party across the state by taking everyone on board. However, Azad didn't come up to the expectations either of the AICC president or of the people of the state.
Immediately after taking over as the state chief minister, Azad made a ridiculous statement in Delhi that "those who are corrupt are efficient and those who are honest are inefficient". As expected, the statement of Azad encouraged corrupt elements both in the ministry and the bureaucracy. The result was the demoralization among the honest politicians and bureaucrats. He handed down to the people of the state a government that was dishonest and inefficient, with the common people suffering on an unprecedented scale.
The Congress high command had hoped that Azad would bring about unity between the people of the three regions of the state, but the hope did not materialize. Instead of taking steps that could harmonize inter-regional relations, Azad conducted himself in a fashion that further widened the already rather wide gulf between the people of Kashmir and Jammu. He handled the Amarnath land issue in a manner that not only pit the whole of Jammu province against Kashmir and put the entire Jammu region on fire, but also led to fall of his own government. In fact, he destabilized the state polity and directly and indirectly strengthened the communal and separatist forces in Kashmir.
It was expected of Azad that he would take all of his ministerial colleagues on board or he would take them into confidence before going ahead, but he didn't do so. He did not pin faith in any of his ministerial colleagues. He rendered his colleagues ineffective. Insiders reveal that he would make his colleagues wait for hours together outside and that he conducted the administration with the help of a small coterie, which was not accountable to the people. One of the members of the coterie would, according to insiders, say that it was he who was running the government. He was a bureaucrat. Insiders also reveal that Azad would always ignore the opinion of his colleagues and that his was a dictatorial way of working. His was, in fact, a one man government.
Azad was so selfish and ambitious that he wanted to hold both the positions. He wanted to hold the office of chief minister and he also wanted to remain the JKPCC chief. He didn't like the decision of the party high command to appoint Saif-ud-Din Soz as the JKPCC president. The moment Soz took over as the JKPCC chief, Azad started conspiring against him. He encouraged factionalism to the extent he could. He motivated his own men to create hurdles and hurdles in the way of Soz. His men, including indecent Abdul Gani Vakil, let loose a campaign against Soz. It was only Soz who could withstand the Azad's onslaught. Had the Congress high command not made common cause with Soz, the latter would have paved way for some other congress leader to take over from him.
Paradoxically, Azad did not spare his own supporters, including his own brother, and virtually destroyed their political career. Almost all of his supporters are today in a state of shock. They art bemoaning their association with Azad saying had they held aloof from him, their political position today would have been totally different.
The story, in a nutshell, is that Azad played a negative role when he was the chief minister and he has been playing a negative role even after becoming a union minister. It is time for the Congress high command to take note of what Azad has been doing to harm the Congress party in the state and set the Congress house in a perfect order. The sooner it is done the better.
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