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| Jammu in advantageous position, Congress playing dubious role | | Fractured Kashmir -- II | | Neha
JAMMU, Feb 14: As mentioned, Kashmir produced a fractured mandate in 2002 and 2008 and with this the balance of power came in the hands of the people Jammu province, notwithstanding the fact that this province has for most of the time produced a fractured mandate. The balance of power came in the hands of the people of Jammu in the sense that it was the Congress, which has captured 15 and 13 seats in 2002 and 208, respectively, in this province, became part of the government: It shared power with the PDP between 2002 and June 2007 and it has been sharing power since 2009, with NC, which has just 28 members in the assembly, leading the coalition government. So, neither the PDP was in a position to dictate terms, nor the NC in a position to function in a dictatorial manner.
The PDP, which had just 20 members in the assembly, could have been easily persuaded by the Congress to abandon the Kashmir-centric-policies and evolve and implement state-centric policies without in any way harming the legitimate interests of the people of Kashmir. Similarly, the Congress could have asserted its authority and defended and promoted the genuine cause of the grossly ignored and politically marginalised people of Jammu province by making the NC leadership undo all the Jammu wrongs committed by the Kashmiri leadership, in collaboration with New Delhi.
Unfortunately, the Congress ministers and the Congress MLAs, particularly those belong to Jammu province, did not assert their authority. On the contrary, they made common cause with the Kashmiri leadership and threw in the lot of the people of Jammu province with it, thus subverting the people's mandate. The Congress ministers sacrificed Jammu to remain in the good books of the Kashmiri leadership and promoted their own vested interests. They cheerfully and willingly endorsed all the decisions and actions of their Kashmiri masters. The legislators, who remained out of the government, also did not open their mouth for reasons best to known to them. They remained busy in petty politicking looking after their own interests and they continue to do the same even today. Contrarily, the Kashmir-based Congress minister did all that they could to look after their constituencies as well as the needs of the people of Kashmir.
It was, and is, the unwillingness of the Congress to assert its position and authority in the government, legislature and civil secretariat that has helped the Kashmiri leadership to jeopardize the general political and economic rights of the people of Jammu province and enrich Kashmir's economy and accord a very preferential treatment to the people of Kashmir, who have been controlling the state polity since October 1947. The Congress high command and the Congress-dominated UPA Government have also contributed equally to the degeneration the people of Jammu province. This was the time for the Congress to win over the people of Jammu province, but it frittered away the invaluable opportunity.
There is still time for the Congress to refashion its whole approach and establish that it is an equal partner in the government and not the C-team of the Kashmiri leadership. Any failure on its part to do so would ensure the collapse of the whole Congress weak edifice. (Concluded) |
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