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| Has New Delhi told Abdullahs to pack up? | | Farooq's Turns Angry -- I | | Neha
JAMMU, Nov 28: Have the troubled Congress high command and the under-severe-attack-Prime Minister told the NC president and Union Minister Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to pack up saying they have outlived their utility? Have they told the two Abdullahs that their brand of politics has no place in the New Delhi's political scheme of things? Have they snubbed and rebuffed the two Abdullahs for what they have been doing to communalise the institution of Army to win back the trust of the estranged Kashmiri Muslims and divert the people's attention away from the real issues, including the issues concerning governance? Have they decided to revive the 2002 power-sharing formula and ask the NC to hand over the office of Chief Minister to the Congress on or before January 4, 2012, when Omar Abdullah would complete three years in office? Has the Chief Minister's November 23 U-turn over the issue of AFSPA revocation failed to click or failed to carry conviction with the powers-that-be in New Delhi? Or, has his suggestion that his government is prepared to amend the Ranbir Penal Code to bring it at par with the Indian Criminal Procedure Code to give legal protection to the Army and paramilitary forces carrying out anti-insurgency operations in the state has backfired and angered the Indian political establishment?
Why these questions at this point in time? Why because Farooq Abdullah has far all practical purposes jumped on to bandwagon of those opposing his son on the ground that he took a complete U-turn over the AFSPA issue just for the sake of personal power. I am referring to the Kashmiri extremists of all hues, including those belonging to the so-called mainstream political parties like the PDP, the CPI-M and the CPI. The extremists, plus separatists, want the AFSPA, the Disturbed Areas Act (DAA) and the Public Safety Act (PSA) to go lock, stock and barrel as they consider these laws as "draconian", "brutal" and "most vulgar". Paradoxically, the opinion of Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah has been no different. They have on occasions more than one termed these laws as "black and draconian" and shared the view that "if the Kashmiri Muslims are to have a breathing space in the Valley, these laws have to be scrapped/revoked or withdrawn".
The manner in which Farooq Abdullah responded to sharp, straight and searching questions put to him by the blunt Karan Thapar during the "Devil's Advocate" weekly programme to be telecast by CNN-IBN did indicate that he was very upset and angry and in a threatening and revolting mode. Farooq Abdullah is not Omar Abdullah, who displays his arrogance every now and then and poses as if he is the chief determinant or seeks to give an impression that he enjoys veto power, notwithstanding the fact that he is leading a coalition government - government that cannot survive even for a second without the Congress' support. Farooq Abdullah, unlike Omar Abdullah, is an astute politician with mass experience. He knows what to speak, where to speak and how to speak. He has the ability and capability of working even with those whose ideology is altogether different. He has, in fact, established that he could work with the "secular" Congress as well as the "communal" BJP. Then, he has own typical method of reflecting on controversial and sensitive issues. He seldom makes off-the-cuff remarks. Some people say that he is mercurial and he has the temerity of making off-the-cuff remarks. This is not entirely true. He makes statements which suits him and his brand of politics. Indeed, he is shrewd politician capable of weathering political storms.
Yes, Farooq Abdullah also loses his cool, but it happens only when the situation is extraordinary or when the provocation is grave or when he feels that ground is slipping from under his feet or when he feels that he is likely to be shown the door. It has happened several times. It happened between 1984 and 1986 and even before in 1977 and during 1980-1982. It happened in 1990. It happened in 1996 just before the general elections. It also happened in 2008, when the Amarnath land row was at its peak. These were the times when Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and the entire NC leadership were at the receiving end for obvious reasons. It happened yesterday as well.
Why did he suddenly turn angry, provocative and threatening while talking to Karan Thapar? It is this sudden change in his attitude which makes one believes that he and his son perhaps have been politely told to quit. There is nothing else on the ground which could justify the line he so suddenly and dramatically took. There are cogent reasons to believe that the powers-that-be in New Delhi have decided to say goodbye to the NC. (To be continued) |
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