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| Yesterday the number was 2, likely to increase in the coming days | | Assembly For Jammu | | Neha
JAMMU, Sept 28: The NC and the PDP have virtually converted the J&K legislature into a forum for discussion on issues other than democratic and economic as well as issues of governance or people-centric issues. It would be no exaggeration to say that these two parties have converted the J&K legislature into Kashmir legislature where Kashmir and Kashmir-related issues and centre-Kashmir relations alone are discussed, with Jammu and Ladakh getting little or no attention. It has been the case since November 2002, when the PDP, in collaboration with the Congress -- which has consistently exposed itself and its weaknesses, including its inability to hold its own against those in Kashmir out to weaken this national party in the state - formed a rag-tag coalition government. Sonia Gandhi had handed over the state power to the PDP in 2002 in the name of what she called "national interest" and she also handed over the highest executive office to the NC in 2009, again, in the name of what she called "national interest". Everyone knows what these two parties have done for the "national interest".
The assembly records clearly show that these two parties and other Kashmiri legislators have consistently fought in the assembly on emotive issues, thus leaving the suffering people in the lurch. The worst sufferers have been the people of Jammu province. It is their considered view that the Kashmiri legislators have not only converted the state legislature into a forum for discussion on emotive and divisive issues, but also converted it into what they call "Kashmir legislature" and that they would continue to suffer unless they get a separate legislature for Jammu province. They are right.
Their well-considered view has started impacting the Jammu legislators. This became evident yesterday, when at least two Jammu MLAs took on the NC and the PDP MLAs and demanded a separate assembly for Jammu province. They put forth this demand on the floor of the assembly when the NC and the PDP were taking on each other, with the latter demanding suspension of question hour so that the issues of "unmarked graves" and last summer's killings in Kashmir could be discussed and the former not conceding their demand. The conflict between the two created a furore in the assembly, thus creating a situation not conducive for transacting public-utility business.
It was this conflict between the NC and the PDP which provoked at least two Jammu MLAs to say that the "state assembly is being held hostage by the rivalry between the two main Kashmir-based parties -- PDP and the NC -- and demanded "establishment of separate Legislative Assembly for the region" saying there is no other alternative. JKNPP MLA from Udhampur assembly constituency took the lead. Without naming the Abdullah and the Mufti families, he said that "it is a war between two families" and it would be better if a "special session is convened after this assembly session to enable the NC and the PDP to debate their issues". "As the important issues relating to their constituencies are not being taken up because of this war, the separate assembly is a must for the Jammu province," he said. Independent MLA representing Bishnah assembly constituency joined his colleague from Udhampur and bemoaned that "important questions of their constituencies are getting dropped by such a war between the NC and the PDP" and that "If this drama continues, then there is no other alternative but to have a separate assembly for Jammu."
Yesterday, the number of Jammu MLAs who demanded separate assembly was a paltry two, but there are reasons to believe that this number could multiply in the coming days. There is consensus in Jammu province that its people would continue to suffer all-round neglect unless they obtain a definite political instrument, invested with the power to legislate, and their representatives just cannot afford to ignore the popular feeling. Legislature is that instrument. For, it is the legislature that discusses and decides questions of supreme important to the well-being and happiness of the people. Hence, separate assembly is the only logical solution to the problems being faced by the people of Jammu province.
Even otherwise, a separate legislative assembly for Jammu province is needed because while the people of this province are for their empowerment and development, the Kashmiri leaders, without any exception, are for a dispensation outside the Indian Constitution; they are not for the people's empowerment, they are for separation from India. Since the people of these two disparate regions could not co-exist under one unified political system, the best course is divorce. It's an unnatural wedlock between Jammu and Kashmir and it must break. The sooner it happens, the better for Jammu and the whole of the country. |
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