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| Trifurcation: Will Congress MP Madan Lal be served with a similar notice? | | DIRECT, MINCING NO WORDS | |
NEHA
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Dec 12: It appears that the Congress high command has two yardsticks, one for the Jammu-based Congress leaders and the other for other Congress leaders. How else should one interpret the response the Health Minister, Sham Lal Sharma, and the Congress national general secretary and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Digvijay Singh, evoked for their remarks on the same day (Saturday)?
Digvijay Singh outraged the national sentiment, as also the sentiment of the martyr Hemant Karkare’s wife, saying that the “slain Mumbai ATS chief Hemant Karkare had told him that he feared for his safety from Hindu extremists.” The wife of Hemant Karkare has rejected outright what Digvijay said and said, “her husband was killed by the Pakistani terrorists, including Kasab,” and that what Digvijay has said would only help Pakistan and Kasab who is facing trial for the crime he and his associated committed.”
What was the response of the Congress high command? The Congress said, "There is no question of agreeing or disagreeing. It is regarding a conversation between two individuals. Unfortunately one of them Karkare is no more with us. So Digvijay Singh will be in a better position to comment on his statement…It appears that Singh personally knew Karkare, whose family hailed from Madhya Pradesh and the slain IPS officer had called him due to his personal association…Singh has made that private conversation public in a programme and the party has no role into it. Hence only he can comment on it. The party has nothing to say on it."
In contrast, the Congress high command issued the same day a notice to Sham Lal Sharma and asked him to explain his statement made at the rally at Bani (Kathua) on December 5. Defence Minister A K Antony, who heads the central disciplinary action panel, has given the notice and asked Sham Lal to reply within seven days. According to reports, the Congress high command has taken a serious exception to what Sham Lal said. What Sham Lal said was “in contravention of the stated position of the policy of the party and the government about Jammu and Kashmir being an integral part of the country…His statement gave a handle to separatists and foreign elements inimical to the country and it was unbecoming of him to make such remarks,” the report in this regard has said.
It is very important to note that Sham Lal had on the same day denied that he had vouched for Kashmir’s independence and that he was quoted out of context. Despite his clarification, the Congress high command has issued a strong notice to him. Is it not discrimination between the Jammu-based Congress leaders and other Congress leaders? Indeed, it is.
Now that the Congress high command has virtually taken Sham Lal Sharma to task, the question to be asked is: Will it also serve a similar notice to Congress MP and brother of Sham Lal Sharma, Madan Lal Sharma? Remember, defending Sham Lal, Madan Lal went several steps further three days later and took on even Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, his father Farooq Abdullah and his uncle Mustafa Kamal.
It would be only appropriate to quote verbatim what Madan Lal said in defence of Sham Lal. On December 8, he said: “Sham Lal has said nothing wrong and he has been quoted out of context on the issue of ‘Azaadi’…There are some (in Kashmir) who are harping on autonomy, self-rule and freedom slogans but why should Jammu suffer. Their demands should be met within the framework of the Indian Constitution so that real development of the State could take place…The sentiments of the people of Jammu have been ignored and hurt by the Kashmiri leaders for the last 63 years and if a Cabinet Minister, who also belongs to Jammu, shares his emotions and sentiments against discrimination, what is wrong in it…There is no controversy over it and the confusion has (been created) because people (including JKPCC chief Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz) could not understand his speech in Dogri.”
Not just this, questioning the very credentials of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Madan Lal also said, “Chief Minister had questioned the J&K accession with India on the floor of the House. He had also talked about revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act. They also passed the bill on controversial Trans-World Muslim University in the Legislative Assembly. His father talked on different lines while his uncle Mustafa Kamal has always toed an anti-Congress line which is not to be tolerated.” But he has not stopped here. He has gone to the extent of ridiculing the Chief Minister. He has reportedly asked: “Whether only the Chief Minister and his party leaders have been given the license to make such statements?”
The Congress high command needs to review its stand on the Jammu-based Congress leaders. They have not committed any crime. They have simply spoken the truth and identified themselves with the very genuine Jammu cause.
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