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| History likely to repeat itself in the assembly | | Congress, BJP & Delimitation -- II | |
STARK REALITY
RUSTAM
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Mar 1: The opposition of the ruling Congress to the bill was beyond comprehension considering the fact that Manmohan Singh (Prime Minister), Lal Kishan Advani (former Deputy Prime Minister, Inder Kumar Gujral (former Prime Minister), Jagmohan (former Governor and Union Minister), Arun Shourie ( former Member Rajya Sabha and former Union Minister), N N Vohra (Governor of J&K), Kuldip Nayar (columnist and former India High Commissioner) and so on were all refugees from Pakistan. That the Congress and the NC, the PDP, the PDF and the CPI-M joined hands and got the bill defeated only indicated their lack of commitment to the human rights of the refugees from West Pakistan, as also their willingness to go with those in Kashmir who were opposed to these refugees on the ground that their empowerment would change the demographic profile of the Assembly segments in Jammu and enhance the Jammu’s representation in the legislature.
Four, the JKNPP moved another private member’s bill seeking incorporation of the words “secularism and socialism” in the preamble of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution. The upshot of its whole argument was that “since the preamble of the Indian Constitution contained these two words, the same needed to be incorporated in the State Constitution so that the state polity was given a secular and socialist orientation”. The bill failed to carry conviction. The ruling Congress, its coalition partners, including the Left parties, plus the opposition NC, rejected out-of-hand this bill, thus indicating their contempt and hatred for secularism and socialism.
Five, the JKNPP moved yet another private member’s bill in the Assembly in the same session. It was designed to ensure parity between Kashmir and Jammu as far as their representation in the Assembly was concerned. The bill said that Jammu province and Kashmir division each be divided into 52 Assembly segments so that the Jammu’s age-old grievance was redressed. But it was bitterly opposed. The ruling Congress, like the PDP, the NC, the CPI-M and the PDF, repudiated outright this bill. The opposition of the Congress to the bill was all the more surprising considering the fact that its core constituency was Jammu province, especially its Hindu-majority areas, which returned as many as 24 members to the Assembly, and which had held out a categorical commitment during the 2002 assembly elections that the Congress, if voted to power, would appoint delimitation commission. The Congress made a similar commitment in 2008 as well.
Six, the NC sprang a surprise in the Assembly when it moved a private member’s bill seeking protection of the temples and shrines of the Kashmiri Hindus, located in the Valley. It was expected that this bill would be adopted at once. But it did not happen. All the coalition partners, excluding the JKNPP, and the BJP and the JSM, joined hands and ensured the defeat of the bill. The bill was sent to the joint select committee. What has happened to this bill, nobody knows. It is hardly necessary to catalogue the reasons behind the opposition of the ruling coalition to this bill.
Seven, the NC moved another private member’s bill on the need to adopt Shariat laws. While the ruling coalition and the JKNPP extended their unqualified support to this bill and adopted it, the BJP and the JSM opposed it. The ideologue of the PDP and the then Deputy Chief Minister, Muzzaffar Hussain Beig, did express some reservations, but ultimately he also voted for the bill.
Eight, the JKNPP moved one more private member’s bill seeking reduction in the life of the Assembly from six to five years. Its argument was that “since the term of the assemblies in the country was five years, the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly should also be constituted for a period of five years”. The Bill was defeated in no time. Health Minister Mangat Ram Sharma made a mockery of himself and his party when he said in the Assembly that the bill, if adopted, would mean “reduction in the pension of the legislators”. He said: “Six-year term benefits the legislators”. The NC and the PDP, on the other hand, opposed the bill, saying that “Jammu and Kashmir enjoys a special status within the Union and, hence, the life of the Assembly has to be six-year”. It needs to be noted that it was the NC, a staunch supporter of greater autonomy, which had in 1977 adopted the central legislation enhancing the life of the Lok Sabha and the assemblies from five to six year -- legislation that was repealed by the Janata Party immediately after it came to power at the centre.
JKNPP MLA Harsh Dev Singh perhaps believes that the attitude of the Kashmir-centric political formations has undergone a change and that the Congress this time would surely support his initiative and force its coalition partner, the NC, to adopt his motion aimed at empowering the people of Jammu province through adequate representation in the Assembly. Let him entertain this hope, but there are cogent reasons to believe that it would ultimately the NC that would dominate the show and show the Congress its rightful place by making it adopt a negative attitude towards the move of the JKNPP MLA. The NC is as it is and it is as anti-Jammu as any other Kashmir-based party and its cronies in Jammu are concerned. The JKNPP, the BJP and the JSM will have to adopt an approach that the opposition parties in New Delhi adopted to force the Congress-led UPA Government to appoint Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to look into the multi-crore 2-G spectrum scam, which has cost the Indian exchequer a loss to the tune of whopping 1.72 lalk crores of rupees. There is no other way. (Concluded)
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