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| Tiwari's faux pas: Congress needs spokespersons who know J-K history | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Oct 9: Munish Tiwari, Congress MP from Ludhiana and national spokesperson, knows nothing about Jammu and Kashmir. Nor does he know that the Instrument of Accession signed by Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, Hari Singh, was similar to the one signed by other 560-odd princely states and that it was framed by the State Department (read Home Ministry) of the Government of India. It needs to be underlined that the Instrument of Accession signed by Hari Singh and other princely states was in the same format. There was no difference whatsoever. But Munish Tiwari practically endorsed the viewpoint of Omar Abdullah on the issue of accession by virtually saying the Instrument of Accession signed by Hari Singh was of different nature. It is clear from the statement he issues yesterday and from what he told to the leading news channel Times Now - statement that has embarrassed both the Congress party and the government of India. Besides, Tiwari has created an awkward situation for the Congress party in Jammu province where the people continue to pour contempt on Omar Abdullah and demand action against him, with some of them even demanding his arrest under the charge of sedition.
It needs to be noted that Tiwari made the statement without even reading the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's October 6 assembly statement that has caused widespread resentment in Jammu and New Delhi, with even the Government of India not taking kindly to his highly controversial and provocative comments. The Chief Minister's statement had, everyone knows, not only questioned the very accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to India and urged the Union Government to take on board Pakistan if it really wished the peace to return to the restive Kashmir Valley, but also denounced the Union Home Secretary and the Union Government itself by saying that it didn't consult him before incorporating in its package a suggestion that educational institutions should be reopened in the Kashmir Valley. His statement had also, everyone knows, said that the talks with the Kashmiri separatists would not yield any positive results unless New Delhi addressed the external dimension of the "Kashmir issue" and that Jammu and Kashmir had only acceded to India and not merged with India.
There are reports that the Union Government has asked the under-fire-Chief Minister to explain as to what exactly he meant by accession and merger, autonomous Jammu and Kashmir and regional autonomy. In fact, stung by what Omar Abdullah said on the floor of the assembly, the Union Government sent Additional Secretary Home, K Sikand, to Srinagar to obtain the CD copy of the Chief Minister's speech in the legislative assembly. He has reportedly obtained it and gone back to New Delhi. It happened at the behest of none other than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Munish Tiwari, who earlier had virtually defended the Chief Minister, saying "sometimes there are extrapolations in what one actually says and in what context." At the same time, however, he admitted that he didn't have the "occasion to pursue his entire speech." While the first part of his statement indicates his soft-paddling; virtual support for the Chief Minister and criticism against those denouncing the Chief Minister for what they call his "anti-national" statement, the second part of the Tiwari's statement indicates how irresponsible he is. Here is a man who issues a statement and takes part in a debate on the highly controversial statement on status of Jammu and Kashmir without reading the statement under scrutiny and cuts a sorry figure when confronted with the relevant/original portions of the controversial statement. Tiwari undoubtedly committed a faux pas and embarrassed the Congress party and the Union Government by making comments that have created an impression in Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of the country that the Congress party is standing solidly behind Omar Abdullah and that it sees nothing wrong in what he said on the floor of the assembly.
But Munish Tiwari is known for making irresponsible statements and embarrassing the Jammu-based Congress leaders and workers. He and another Congress national spokesperson Jyanthi Natrajan had created an awkward situation for the Congress party in Jammu province in July 2008 by equating the votaries of restoration of the piece of land at Baltal to the Shrim Amarnath Shrine Board with the Hurriyat and dubbing them as "communalists." Such was the nature of resentment among the Congress leaders and workers in Jammu that almost all the top-ranking Congress leaders, including Lal Singh and Madan Lal Sharma, Members of Parliament, had rushed to New Delhi to meet the party high command and tell it to rein in Munish Tiwari.
The Congress high command needs to appoint spokespersons who are well-versed in matters relating to Jammu and Kashmir, which is a very sensitive state and where even a trivial issue could assume alarming proportions. Besides, all the spokespersons should be clearly told what to say and what not say. The Congress high command just can't afford to have spokespersons like Tiwari who make a laughing stock of themselves and give an opportunity to others to jeer at and ridicule the Congress party and the Congress-led UPA government. |
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