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| Has New Delhi told Abdullahs to pack up? | | Farooq Turns Angry -- II | | Neha
JAMMU, Nov 29: It would be only appropriate to quote here what he said during his interview to Thapar which CNN IBN telecast on Sunday. Such an exercise is imperative to put things in right perspective. He, among other things, said: "Army is not our master. Just remember that. People of Jammu and Kashmir are masters of the State. Army is not the master. Army is only to protect…There are certain things we have to do for the betterment of the people, for the feeling of the people that yes there is better situation. That we are getting better. People of State feel that AFSPA should go…The Army was failing to handle the situation… Successful infiltration bid is Army's failure…It's not the question of Army. It's the failure of entire system. It's intelligence failure. We have intelligence. We have internal intelligence, we have the external intelligence. There must be a failure somewhere if they are coming in…"
He further said: "I (Farooq) am not interested in AFSPA. Let me be very frank about it. I think the time has come when people should be trusted…Time has come when people should be given space to breath. When they should feel that there is nothing beyond the law…Omar Abdullah is amending the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to address the Army's concern. (May be) he must have seen that they need a protection and that's why he is giving them. It was not suggested then and Omar is not a lawyer….I have been the Chief Minister myself so don't tell what a Chief Minister can do and cannot do. Chief Minister is the master…We are not using this (AFSPA) as an alibi to divert the attention…AFSPA will go from (certain ) districts…Why are you (Thapar) worried about that? You (Thapar) think the CRPF and the police are useless. That they can't deal with it. That they are unable to deal with it…(Don't say Omar Abdullah has not been able to handle the AFSPA). No, not at all. None, none whatsoever. If he (Omar) decides that it (AFSPA) has to go, it must go…"
He crossed the line and further said: "It doesn't matter if the Army and the Centre do not agree. It is the wishes of the people that matter and if the people feel that the things are better, then let's give them that…Army has its view and that view cannot... It's not my view... Credibility (of Omar) is not at stake. No credibility is at stake at all. These are not things that you (Thapar) decide in a spur of moment. Everything has to take time. After all AFSPA was introduced in 1990 by the then Government and Governor…(My) son (does) not need any defence as he is determined to remove AFSPA and that it will have to go…I am not bothered who (Governor) has the right and who has not the right...As far as the president of the party (Farooq Abdullah) is concerned, my job is to see that this thing (AFSPA) is lifted as the Chief Minister says the conditions are better in these areas, it should be lifted…"
What he told Thapar suggests many things. One, it was virtually a revolt against the Army and the Indian political system. Two, it was an indication that something had gone seriously wrong somewhere. Three, it indicated lack of confidence. Four, it indicated incoherence. Five, it indicated defeat, frustration, anger, helplessness and lack of information. Six, it indicated a desire for the re-emergence of a local oligarchy under which the Chief Minister (Omar Abdullah) would exercise extraordinary powers, a regime to which he would not be accountable to any authority, leave aside people. Seven, it indicated rabid opposition to the Congress party that refused to toe the Chief Minister's line. Eight, it indicated faith in a system that is outside the Indian constitutional framework. Nine, it indicated faith in a system under which the party president and the Chief Minister belonging to a particular party shall have the power to negate the very institutions of the state and the Army and have veto powers as five nations in the world have in the United Nations/Security Council. Ten, it indicated faith in the exclusivist ideology. Eleven, it indicated his unwillingness to accommodate the nationalist constituency in the state, particularly Jammu province and Ladakh, which is opposed to the demand for revocation of the AFSPA. Twelve, it suggested there is no fundamental difference between what he said and what his brother Mustafa Kamaal said about the Army and the Indian establishment for which he had to pay a very heavy price. In fact, what he said suggested many many things.
Towards which direction the Abdullahs are heading would become clear sooner than later. But one thing is very clear and that is this they are a frustrated lot. There should be no doubt it. (Concluded) |
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