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| Establishment of CU in Jammu on the top of its agenda, says BJP | | Half-hearted Announcement? | | Neha
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, July 20: The J&K unit of the BJP, which is unsuccessfully struggling to recapture its lost political space since the day its seven legislators committed an act of political debauchery and voted for the Congress and NC candidates seeking election to the legislative council, has finally realized that it committed a serious blunder by not making common cause with those spearheading movement for the establishment of the sanctioned Central University (CU) in Jammu and declared yesterday at Akhnoor that the establishment of the said university is "on the top of its agenda."
The announcement to this effect was made by the state BJP president whom most of the people still do not know because he operates mostly from his office. His problem is that his own men have created for him a situation that has made his task very difficult. He is just not in a position to set things right because the legislators of his party and most of the party leaders behave as independent entities. It's total confusion at all levels. The situation has reached a point where the party spokesperson issues three statements on the same issue in one day, thus making a mockery of the party leadership and exposing its bankruptcy and ambivalence. The nature of the confusion can be determined from the fact that it had to issue another statement the same day contradicting the earlier one that had said: "act or quit." Everything is self-explanatory.
Anyway, the state BJP president has finally decided to take up the issue of CU. It would be seen if he really meant what he said or it was just another attempt on the part of the BJP to hoodwink the people of Jammu province by saying something to which it was not really committed. One has to wait and see. As for the common masses, they would not give any credence to what the BJP announced yesterday. For, their past experience has shaken their confidence in the BJP leadership. The reasons were many and some of them were: (1) vote for the constitutional amendment that barred delimitation of constituencies for decades; (2) shifting stance as far as Article 370 is concerned; (3) indifferent attitude during the Dogra certificate controversy; (4) utter failure to suggest some definite mechanism that would empower the people of Jammu province and make them masters in their own house; and (5) support for rehabilitation of militants.
If the BJP is really interested in the establishment of the CU, then it would have to act immediately, and act very fast. It is the political organ of the RSS and the student wing of the RSS has already jumped into the arena demanding the establishment the said university. The BJP and the ABVP can supplement the efforts of others already in the middle of the movement.
It is well known that a number of socio-political groups, the Panthers Party and various student organizations, including the Jammu University Research Scholars Association (JURSA), have been agitating since the last more than 18 months to pressurize the concerned authorities in Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi, to not only establish the CU in Jammu but also to appoint a local academician as its first Vice-Chancellor. (The Shastri Bhawan houses the office of Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal.) In fact, it was because of them that the authorities had to agree to sanction two Central Universities in the state, one each in Jammu and Kashmir. Mercifully, even at that time the BJP remained indifferent for reasons best known to it.
Insiders also reveal that "at least two senior BJP leaders, both MLAs, were against those opposing the government decision to appoint Amitabh Mattoo as Vice-Chancellor of the CU on the ground that there was none in Jammu who could be considered for the top slot" and that "Mattoo was a well-known academician." One may or may not share this revelation, but one cannot really disagree with the suggestion that the "attitude of the BJP towards the issue of CU of Jammu has been one of indifference."
But one thing is clear: The intervention of the BJP can help the agitating people of Jammu province, including students, achieve the goal. BJP is a national party. The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha is a BJP person and its also true of the Rajya Sabha. The BJP would surely gain in case it plays its role. In fact, the state unit of the BJP needs to deliver something concrete to regain the people's confidence. The opportunity is there and it is for the BJP to make optimum use of the opportunity and recapture its lost political space. |
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