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| On Status Quo | | Coalition between Congress & NC a “visionary” decision......? | |
STARK REALITY
RUSTAM
JAMMU, Jan 6: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and other ministers belonging both to the NC and Congress party, were very happy yesterday. They were so overwhelmed by the decision of the Congress high command (read Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi) to ignore the demand seeking revival of the 2002 power-sharing formula between the coalition partners and allow Omar Abdullah to lead the coalition government for another three years that they had no words to express his jubilation. They expressed his feelings virtually saying the Congress high command took right decision. “The coalition between two secular parties of National Conference and Congress constituted by the Union leadership headed by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh was a visionary decision,” was the crux of the message expressed at an official function organized on the day the NC-Congress coalition government completed three years in office.
Why not? The decision of the Congress high command to maintain the status quo has made the position of some ministers secure for another three years. Had the Congress high command respected the sentiment of the local Congress leadership and workers and ordered change of guard in the state, most of the Jammu-based ministers would have been out of the government. The Chief Minister would have been from the Congress party and the Deputy Chief Minister from the NC, had there been change of guard. Besides, the change of guard would have also meant change in portfolios.
Remember, Congress veteran Mangat Ram Sharma had in October 2005 did all that he could to persuade the Congress high command not to disturb the status quo. He, according to many insiders, wanted the Congress high command to allow PDP leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to lead the coalition government for full six years so that his position remained unaffected. But Sharma was not that lucky. The then JKPCC president, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and his men succeeded in bringing off a coup against the Mufti and the result was the change of guard in the state. Azad became Chief Minister and PDP leader Muzzaffar Beig Deputy Chief Minister. Sharma had to work very hard or he had to lobby with the Congress high command to get a berth in the Azad-led council of ministers.
In present dispensation some Congress ministers unlike Mangat Ram Sharma, are very lucky. They are lucky because the Congress high command wants to keep Omar Abdullah on its right side at whatever cost because it feels that Omar is an asset for them and that’s the reason it went against those demanding rotational chief minister. This directly helped them. The Congress high command knows that the today’s local Congress leaders and workers are no more than their loyalists who would accept their diktat most cheerfully and obediently. This is the most important factor that has worked against the local sentiment and helped Omar Abdullah, and others retained control over their respective positions.
Therefore the 'visionary-decision formulation' needs to be viewed in this context. Omar Abdullah is happy; and all other ministers are also very happy. Since they are very happy and feeling very relieved and secured, the people of the state should also feel very happy because their happiness lies in the happiness of Omar Abdullah and his ministers. Believe Tara Chand when he says “we would continue to work vigorously to strengthen the secular traits of the State and move on path to equitable development of all areas with determination and commitment and the next three years of Omar-led coalition Government would witness accelerated development in all sectors”. Don’t question these ministers. On the contrary, it would be better if the Congress merges itself with the NC. There appears no logic for the Congress to maintain a separate identity. Why should it allow its opponents to ridicule it as a b-team or c-team of NC?
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