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| Regional Council For Jammu | | Congress has forgotten its solemn pledge | | Rustam
jammu, June 21: The state unit of Congress is feeling jubilant. It is feeling jubilant because it believes the "coalition government" has fulfilled the promise of holding panchayat elections in the state. To be more exact, the Congress has sought everyone to believe that the coalition government has transferred power to the panchayats. The coalition government does deserve credit for the successful organization of elections at the grassroots level. That almost 80 per cent of the electorate participated in the electoral exercise overlooking a threat to their life and limb is an indication of the people's belief in democracy whatever it means today. However, it would be an exaggeration to say that the power has been transferred to the panchayats. The elected panchayats would be toothless institutions as far as finances are concerned. The local MLAs would control the purse. The panchayats would need money and they would be totally dependent upon the local MLAs. The panchayats would become effective institutions only when they are empowered to exercise powers as enumerated by the 73rd and 74th amendment. It is extremely doubtful if the coalition government would adopt these landmark amendments. This is one issue that needs to be addressed.
The other issue that needs to be addressed, particularly by the Congress , is the solemn promise it made in 2008 in its election manifesto. The Congress election manifesto had said in unambiguous terms that the Congress, if voted to power, would amend the state's unitary constitution and federalize the state's polity by setting up two regional councils, one each in Jammu and Kashmir Valley. Earlier in 2002, the state unit of Congress had assured the people of Jammu that it would set up regional development board in Jammu in case it was voted to power. The Congress, in collaboration with the PDP, came to power in the state in 2002 after a long gap of 27 years, but it did nothing to fulfill the promise. The Congress again became part of the government in January 2009, but till date it has not taken any step to fulfill the promise.
Both in 2002 and 2008, the Congress had given the people of Jammu province to understand that it was aware of the discriminatory policies towards them and that their vote for the Congress would mean end of the discriminatory policies and the rise of a situation under which they would enjoy co-equal powers with the people of Kashmir. But what it has done so far has only added to woes of the people of Jammu with Kashmir being the major beneficiary and Jammu at the receiving end.
In other words, if anything, the Congress has only helped the ruling National Conference further its agenda and everyone knows what this agenda is all about. It's fundamentally Kashmir-centric. One can catalogue here innumerable instances to prove this point. There are instances and instances which show that the Congress has cheerfully and willingly become a part to many a decision that have only helped the National Conference further its Kashmir-centric agenda at the cost of Jammu and Ladakh.
It would be reasonable to say that the Congress' approach is lop-sided and it doesn't augur well for the people of Jammu as well as the Congress. The people of Jammu want the Congress to play a role so that parity is established between the two regions but the Congress is not coming up to their expectation. The result is that the Congress is becoming more and more unpopular with each passing day. The Congress leadership needs to retrospect and do something concrete so that the promise it made in 2008 is fulfilled and Jammu gets an adequately empowered regional council. Though regional council is not the lasting solution to the age-old Jammu problem, yet it can be construed as a great step forward. Will the Congress leadership find time to go through its election manifestoes of 2002 and 2008 and give effect to what it held out solemnly? Indeed a very difficult question. |
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