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| Soz says it's up to high command, Taj says Omar to continue | | Rotational CM | | Neha
Jammu, Oct 30: Prof Saf-ud-Din Soz is president of the state unit of the Congress party. Ever since the 2010 summer, when Congress veteran and former deputy chief minister Mangat Ram Sharma vouched for the 2002 power-sharing formula between the Congress and the PDP, Soz has consistently maintained that it is for the Congress high command to take a final call and decide if the Congress would or would not rule the state after January 4, 2009, when Omar Abdullah completes three years in office. Under the 2002 power-sharing formula, the PDP was to rule for the first three years and the Congress for the remaining period of three years. The formula was implemented in letter and spirit. The PDP did try to persuade the Congress to allow it to complete the full term of six years but with no result as the local Congress leadership put its foot down. The mood of the local Congress leadership, barring some Congress ministers, is the same today and it is not a secret. It wants Omar Abdullah to go for reasons it has been giving, particularly from June this year. Most of the Congress ministers want the Congress high command to maintain status quo and the reasons are obviously personal.
Since Prof Soz is the party president and since he knows everything as an important member of the AICC, one cannot afford to question his stand. In other words, if one goes by what Prof Soz has been consistently saying on the issue, one can say without any hesitation that the issue of rotational chief minister is still not closed and that there is the possibility of the Congress taking over from Omar Abdullah after two months, even before. The developments as they have started unfolding in the state after October 21, when Omar Abdullah unilaterally made the controversial statement on the revocation of the AFSPA from certain areas, have led many a political commentator and NC and Congress-watcher to believe that the Congress would surely dislodge Omar Abdullah. They do make a valid point. There is no doubt that the position of Omar Abdullah has over the period become quite untenable and that it would not be surprising if the Congress high command finally decides to dump the controversial chief minister taking into consideration some larger interests, including national security and political compulsion.
However, there is a Congress minister who doesn't agree with Prof Soz. He is none other than the very vocal and outspoken Taj Mohi-ud-Din, PHE minister. When the controversy over the chief minister's statement on the AFSPA had engulfed the entire state and the country and when Prof Soz took to task Omar Abdullah for not consulting him and the Congress on the sensitive issue, Taj made a statement that Omar Abdullah had consulted him. He virtually sought to create an impression that the consultation with him was in fact the consultation with the Congress leadership. He did not disclose whether or not he had supported or opposed the chief minister's move. He left everyone guessing. Even yesterday he acknowledged that the chief minister had consulted him. But again he did not disclose what his views were. Anyway, yesterday, Taj sprung a big surprise by saying that the "time is not ripe for the revocation of the AFSPA; it may happen after the next summer". To be more precise, he toed the Soz's line.
At the same time, Taj asserted that Omar Abdullah will continue to be the chief minister of the state for the full term of six years. "I am in touch with the (Congress) high command. There is no issue of destabilizing this coalition government. I can vouch that Omar will continue to be chief minister for next three years," Taj said. His statement has created confusion among the local Congress leaders and created an impression that he knows more than what Prof Soz knows. The general impression is that Taj perhaps is privy to information which Prof Soz doesn't have. And, it is this which has created a piquant situation for the JKPCC chief and at a time when he is busy in neutralizing the National Conference's influence whatever it is.
The situation as it exists today in the state demands strengthening of the hands of Prof Soz and not weakening his position through statements which have the potential of making people believe that the Congress continues to be a divided house. |
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