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| Cong snubs Omar, Soz gains upper hand & Azad sings different song | | NC In Serious Trouble | | Neha
jammu, Nov 11: The desperate, adamant and frustrated Chief Minister Omar Abdullah yesterday did what he should not have. The case in point is his open and blistering attack on the Army. He practically denounced the Army and sought to convey an impression that it is he whose writ alone runs in the state and that he could anything he wants, including jeopardize the national security by demonizing the institution of Army. "My government has the authority to revoke the AFSPA. I don't think it is anybody's case, least of all the Army's, that the state government doesn't have the authority to revoke the AFSPA. The elected state government of any state has the authority. And in this case, the authority rests with the Governor who would act on the basis of the state government's recommendations. No is not an option for him and he has sought a feasible and workable solution on the AFSPA from Army at the Unified Headquarters meeting yesterday. Other than no as an option you give me other options that are feasible and workable," he, among things, said.
This was perhaps for the first time in the post-1947 period that any constitutional authority took such a line on the Army whose fundamental duty it is to defend the borders, neutralize the enemy and help the failed civil administration to maintain law and order and internal security, if asked. Omar Abdullah's open attack on the Army was a development that shocked the whole nation in the sense that it constituted a concerted attempt on his part to lower the morale of the Army and conciliate the separatists and communalists. The manner in which the Chief Minister handled the issue or the manner in which he communalized and politicized the issue of national security clearly indicated that he was more interested in the vote-bank politics than in discharging the obligations he is required to discharge as a constitutional authority. It appears Omar Abdullah, who today stands thoroughly exposed and isolated and who is being roundly condemned by the JKPCC chief, is preparing for himself a constituency similar to the one represented by the likes of Syed Ali Shah Geelani to remain relevant in the restive Kashmir Valley.
It was good that the AICC immediately intervened and put things in perspective by saying that nothing should be done in this regard without evolving a consensus on the issue of great national import. "As far as AFSPA is concerned, various stakeholders have various views. The situation there demands that there should be certain amount of consensus on the issue. Although the State Government is an important stakeholder and its views have to be given due weightage, the appropriate thing will be that all stakeholders must evolve a consensus before any decision is taken," Congress national spokesperson Manish Tewari told reporters in New Delhi while reacting to the Omar Abdullah's tirade against the Army and his unilateral insistence that the AFSPA be withdrawn. And, what Tiwari told reporters was what the JKPCC president, Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz, had been saying ever since Omar Abdullah made the statement unilaterally that he would lift the AFSPA from certain areas in the state before the Durbar move. The Tiwari's unequivocal statement once again demonstrated that Prof Soz enjoys the full confidence of the Congress high command. Prof Soz must be feeling quite jubilant these days because he is getting the fullest possible support from the Congress high command. It would be reasonable to say that the AICC publicly snubbed Omar Abdullah through one of its spokespersons. Indeed, it was a snub. Indeed, the AICC censured Omar Abdullah for his acts of commission.
What, however, was rather surprising was the stand Union Health Minister and former J&K Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad took yesterday on the issue. Azad was in Jammu yesterday to take part in the Diwali-Eid-Gurpurab Milan, organized by the Bar Association Jammu's president Bhupinder Singh Slathia and his colleagues. In an informal chat with reporters on the sidelines of this function, Azad said, "the Chief Minister of the state by virtue of being also the Home Minister and the Union Home Minister, who is in-charge of the internal security, know about everything that is happening inside the state so this sensitive issue should be left to them for any decision". Of course, he also said that "I don't want to comment on who has said what on this very sensitive issue but I can only say that an avoidable controversy is being created over the withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Power Act and the issue is being politicized and made a public debate". The manner in which he explained his viewpoint did make many a reporter and commentator believe that he took a line different from that of the JKPCC president and that there was no unanimity between him and the JKPCC president on the issue. In fact, what he said created an impression that he stood by Omar Abdullah.
All in all, it can be said that things are becoming extremely difficult for Omar Abdullah and the National Conference by the day. It is very difficult to say if Omar Abdullah would be able to extricate himself from the situation he has landed himself and his party in by his reckless comments and desperate acts. It appears he and his party are drifting towards the rocks. |
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