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| Omar plans civic poll deferment to save yatra, tourist season | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, May 9: It is from the horse's mouth. The State Government plans to defer the civic polls in Jammu and Kashmir. Though Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, has stated that the final decision would be taken by the Cabinet during its meetings, he seems to opt for the civic elections towards the end of the current year.
His critics in the Congress, BJP, PDP and in the Panthers Party may hold him responsible for deliberately scuttling the democratic process because of fear of losing the poll. But the Chief Minister seems to be eager to see that the bumper tourist traffic to Kashmir and the upcoming Amarnath yatra remained uninterrupted.
Already the separatists, especially the hardliners headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, have given a call to people to boycott the civic elections. No doubt separatists call for boycott of Assembly elections had evoked meagre response from the people in 2002 and 2008 elections, but this time Omar Abdullah does not want to take any chance. In case people responded to the poll boycott call it would expose the Chief Minister and his National Conference's basic fragility in sustaining peoples' support.
Earning credit for ensuring peaceful summer during 2011, Omar Abdullah had assumed political weight in the eyes of Union Home Minister, P. Chidambaram and the AICC General Secretary, Rahul Gandhi. Hence Omar does not want to soil this image in case violence took place during summer civic poll.
Apart from this, if the separatists and their supporters attempt at enforcing their poll boycott call violence of various hues cannot be ruled out. Once the Valley witnessed even breezy incidents of violence it would wreck the tourist season when excursionists would cut short their stay and others cancelling their reservation.
If violence during the civic polls caused any shadow on the Amarnath yatra it could have ramifications at the national level. If Omar Abdullah and his team of Ministers and bureaucrats are not ready for facing any such embarrassment they cannot be faulted for that.
All those connected with tourist trade had already appealed to the Chief Minister to defer the civic polls till the tourist season and Amarnath pilgrimage ended. If Omar Abdullah has responded to this appeal he need not be criticised.
Yes, had he been interested in holding the civic elections he could have done it before the end of March when the tourist flow to Kashmir was yet to begin. Now the Chief Minister says that the Government had plans of holding the civic polls before the onset of tourist season but it could not be held because the tourist rush to the Valley started much earlier. But one thing is definite. The tourist season had not started before the end of March and if some visitors had landed in the State's summer capital over 40 days ago it was just a trickle.
Omar Abdullah is keen to hold the civic polls because sizeable amount of funds under various Centrally Sponsored Schemes had been withheld. But his argument that the civic polls may be held by the end of the year may kick up many weather related problems. If Omar Abdullah is sincerely interested in holding the civic elections it should be held in the month of September which will have no impact on yatra and tourist season. |
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