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| Omar & AFSPA | | What will Congress do now? | | Rustam | 4/18/2012 1:24:19 AM |
| EARLY TIMES REPORT
Jammu, Apr 17: NC president and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah on Monday reiterated his demand seeking revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) while participating in the Chief Ministers' conference on internal security in New Delhi. He reiterated his demand in the presence of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.
"However, now that there is a distinct change in the security environment in the State, there is a good case for reviewing the continuation of AFSPA. I am not advocating the withdrawal of AFSPA from districts and areas which are still infested with militancy, but a beginning can be made by withdrawing AFSPA from areas and districts which are not affected by militant activities," he said and added "there is a constant decline of more than 30 per cent of such incidents as compared to 2010". "Against the 488 militancy-related incidents in the year 2010, there were only 340 such incidents in 2011 and as against 47 civilians killed in 2010, 31 civilians were killed during 2011. Strict surveillance of our borders by the Security Forces and their tireless efforts has resulted in considerable reduction in infiltration bids. About 45.26 per cent decline has been registered in net infiltration during 2011. The net infiltration during 2010 was 95 as against 52 in 2011. Thanks to the cooperation of the people, commitment and professionalism of Security Forces and Jammu and Kashmir Police and adoption of the newly-framed Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) to control serious law and order," he also said.
It's true that Omar Abdullah this time was not that vociferous on the issue as he used to be till the other day. But it doesn't make any difference. The fact that he used the forum provided by the Government of India to register his opposition to the AFSPA overlooking not only the objections of the Army to his demand but also overlooking the opposition of the local Congress leaders, including Congress MP from Jammu-Poonch Parliamentary constituency, did establish that he doesn't care for what the local Congress leaders think about the AFSPA.
It bears recalling that it was on April 10, when Union Home Minister visited Jammu for an on-the-spot assessment of the internal security, that Congress MP Madan Lal Sharma had in the presence of several Congress leaders told media persons at Circuit House, Jammu, that the Congress was opposed to the NC's demand seeking revocation of the AFSPA. "The NC has its own viewpoint but the Congress believes that the revocation of the AFSPA would not be in the larger interest of the country," he had said and asserted that the Congress party would never support this controversial demand. As for the JKPCC president, Prof. Saif-ud-Din Soz, he had been maintaining since October 2011 that nothing should be done in this regard without taking the Army and the Congress into confidence. In fact, he had taken on Omar Abdullah and his uncle Mustafa Kamaal for their negative attitude towards the Army and their insistence on the AFSPA revocation and accused the Chief Minister of making a unilateral announcement that he would revoke the Act before the Durbar reopened in the winter capital in November. The fact of the matter is that both the JKPCC chief and the Congress MP had opposed the NC's unilateralism and cautioned the Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister has virtually ridiculed the JKPCC chief and Congress leaders like Madan Lal Sharma by again taking recourse to unilateralism. What will the State Congress leaders, especially those belonging to Jammu and Saif-ud-Din Soz and others of his ilk, do now? Will they take on the Chief Minister or will they allow him to go scot-free? The people are watching with vigilance all that the Congress leaders have been doing. The people of the State in general and Jammu and Ladakh provinces in particular, would certainly want the Congress leaders like Madan Lal Sharma to say something about the NC president who went against their wish and on Monday demanded revocation of the AFSPA. The Congress has to make its stand clear failing which it would certainly become an object of ridicule and contempt and lose its face. |
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