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| Criticism of CM misplaced, ill-motivated | | Expulsion of Navlakha | | Early Times Report
Jammu, June 18: Vested interests and sympathizers and supporters of Kashmiri separatists and extremists have unleashed a no-holds-barred propaganda blitz against Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. One may or may not agree with many a policy of the CM but one certainly cannot criticize his policy towards the disturbers of peace in the Valley and towards those who enter Kashmir with a view to fomenting troubles in the Valley or certain actions he has taken against the so-called peace activists like Gautam Navlakha and against those who willfully seek to disturb peace in Kashmir to further their selfish intentions by provoking Kashmiri separatists like Geelani and Mirwaiz and their handful of supporters. Omar Abdullah is Chief Minister and it is his fundamental duty to take action against the undesirable.
It is the CM's action against the undesirable that has provoked vested interests to unleash a relentless campaign against him. The criticism is bitter and not in good taste. The fact of the matter is that these vested interests have swung solidly behind the likes Navlakha, Ram Jethmalani, Madhu Kishwar, Ramvilas Paswan and others of their ilk - all attacking New Delhi and Omar Abdullah and all supporting all those who been seeking to wreck the Indian state for years.
That the criticism against the CM is bitter can be seen from what these vested interests have said. They have said: CM Omar Abdullah "is fuming and fretting over voices being raised…against the reign of terror let loose by his government." His "police and other security forces" are "violating human rights" and "enjoying the culture of immunity." His government is "arresting a large number of people, including minors under the Public Safety Act." "A lawless law aimed at silencing the voices of dissent and protecting the ruling elite from popular wrath, detaining the political leaders, senior advocates and civil society members or putting them under house arrests, imposing a permanent ban on the holding of rallies and processions under the obsolete section 144 of the criminal procedure act, silencing every voice of dissent by using coercive methods, placing curbs on the freedom of the press, presence of large number of gun-wielding soldiers in olive and khaki in every nook and corner of the Valley and the existence of large number of bunkers in civilian areas are unmistakable signs of a totalitarian state." "After the indefencible act of the State government in debarring the entry of noted peace activist Gautam Navlakha and detaining and deporting him illegally, the CM and his cohorts are now gunning for other well meaning political leaders and civil society members concerned about the suffering of the besieged people and keen for genuine peace in the State and the region as a whole." "The ruling National Conference's demand for strong action against noted Indian lawyer and members of the Parliament and peace activists like Ram Jethmalani, Ram Vilas Paswan, Arundhati Roy, Madhu Kishwar and several others clearly betrays a fascist mindset" and that the "crime of these notables is that they have the courage of conviction to speak the truth. For the rulers who believe in the axiom of 'speak no truth, hear no truth and see no truth' calling a spade a spade is indeed the biggest crime." "The State rulers failure to scrap the draconian laws like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and PSA, which have been blatantly misused to stifle the voice of dissent and suppress the genuine political urges of the citizens, their refusal to probe into the killings of innocents, release all detenues, remove the bulk of troops from the civilian areas, remove curbs placed on the people's right to protest and hold rallies speak of a state of mind that lacks faith in democracy and democratic norms."
This is the nature of the attack certain vested interests have launched against the CM. This is unfair. He is the man on the spot and he knows who are indulging in subversive activities and who are not. It is his duty to maintain law and order and whatever he has done in Kashmir needs to be viewed in this context. He doesn't deserve brickbats for the actions he has taken in Kashmir to maintain peace. However, to say all this is not to suggest that all is well with the CM. It is not the case. He himself has from time to time made statements which, instead of sending a right signal, have only emboldened further the extremists in Kashmir. He himself has been taking recourse to the politics of competitive communalism and separatism. Hence, it would be better if stops indulging in such type of politics. Otherwise, people could accuse him of adopting double-standards. |
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