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| Bhim does plain-speaking, takes on Cong, NC & interlocutors | | Three Regional Assemblies | | NEHA
JAMMU, June 7: Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) chairman Bhim Singh only hit the nail on the head when he on the other day lambasted the Congress leadership saying it was "shocking" that it had till date not spoken a word against what he called the "highly provocative and vicious report" prepared by the interlocutors Dilip Padgaonkar, Radha Kumar and M M Ansari "under the very nose of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram".
This means he not only attacked the local Congress leadership but also attacked Union Home Minister P Chidambaram. Without mincing words, he said that the controversial interlocutors, two of whom are known for their links with the Pakistani agent of Kashmir origin Ghulam Nabi Fai and the Union Home Minister were on the same page as far as their approach towards Jammu & Kashmir was concerned.
But Bhim Singh did not stop just there. Dismissing contemptuously as US-sponsored the findings or report of the interlocutors and terming the interlocutors as the "agents" of the "National Conference", he also questioned the very "credibility of the Congress leadership" which, as per him, had extended their fullest possible support to the interlocutors overlooking the fact that the said report, if accepted and implemented, would "destabilize India". He did make a very valid point. Only a naive would disagree with him. The report does contain several dangerous and unsettling suggestions which, if accepted and implemented, would undoubtedly lead to another communal partition of the country, with Kashmir either becoming independent or becoming part of theocratic Pakistan.
Bhim Singh, in addition, made another valid point when he said that the report is the negation of the "full and final agreement signed by Parthasarthy (representative of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi) and Afzal Beg (representative of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah) in 1974". "Sheikh-Indira accord was final and cannot be reopened by tiny agents of the vested interests," he said, adding that "the only way out is to dissolve the present Assembly and hold fresh elections with clear agenda to reorganize the State of Jammu & Kashmir by establishing three separate Assemblies, one each for Ladakh, Kashmir and Jammu Pradesh". The agreement is known as the 1975 Indira-Sheikh accord. The agreement between Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Abdullah had been reached after months of tortuous discussions on the Centre-state relations, as also on the central laws and institutions extended to Jammu & Kashmir after August 9, 1953, when Sheikh Abdullah was dethroned and arrested on the charge of "sedition" and this agreement should be respected, Bhim Singh also said. Not just this, he accused the Congress leadership of "disowning" Indira Gandhi and playing havoc with the freedom and liberty of the people only to strengthen the Sheikhdom of the Abdullah dynasty in Jammu & Kashmir to loot the state exchequer and share power in the state. "The State Congress leadership has been playing havoc with the freedom and liberty of the people only to strengthen Sheikhdom of Abdullah dynasty in J&K only to share the loot of the exchequer and power in the State in utter violation of the mandate of the Constitution," he, in effact said. It was indeed a very significant statement. His suggestion that the Congress leadership should either disown Indira Gandhi or the interlocutors just cannot be ignored. Nor can it be dismissed as something ridiculous and preposterous. His suggestion was novel.
No less significant were his two other suggestions one was that "Article 370 needs an amendment" and not a "special" position in the Indian Constitution and that the "Parliament should have the powers to amend the Constitution vis-à-vis Jammu & Kashmir at least in respect of the Central subjects". The interlocutors have, it needs to be underlined, recommended that Article 370 should be made a permanent feature of the constitution by giving it a "special" position and that the Parliament and the Union President should be barred from bringing Jammu & Kashmir under the jurisdiction of Central law and Central Articles. To be more exact, the interlocutors have asked the Government of India to amend the constitution so that Article 370 is accorded a special position and the Parliament and the Union President, head of the state and constitutional head of the country, are barred from bringing Jammu & Kashmir under the purview of the Central laws and Central institutions.
The Congress leadership would do well not to dismiss what Bhim Singh said. On the contrary, the Congress leaders should sit up, dispassionately ponder over what he succinctly said and act accordingly. It would indeed be in the interest of the Congress if it takes cognizance of the Bhim Singh's positive criticisms and valuable suggestions. Besides, it would well to look back, study its 2008 election manifesto and make the state government amend the state constitution to federalize the state's polity and empower Jammu and Ladakh through a fool-proof political instrument. The best course for them to do would be to consider the Bhim Singh's well-meaning and well-intentioned suggestion that three separate assemblies should be established in the state, one each for Ladakh, Jammu Pradesh and Kashmir Valley.
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