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| Sordid saga of New Delhi's 'no' to Soz's Vice-Presidential candidature | | Look who did what behind curtains! | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
Jammu, July 17: With Congress announcing to repeat Hamid Ansari as its Vice-Presidential candidate, Father-son duo of Farooq and Omar Abdullah heaved a sigh of relief. They celebrated success guardedly.
The reason is not too secret. They made Prof. Saifuddin Soz clandestinely, their former party men who disobeyed Farooq's dictate, voted against BJP-led NDA Government in 1998 resulting in fresh Parliamentary elections, joined Congress and rose to become not only a Union Cabinet Minister but also President of Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC), cut a sorry figure after his name appeared in several national leading dailies as one of the strongest contenders for the prized position.
Congress sources affirmed that father-son duo could not digest the fact that a former worker of their party was being considered for the top job by New Delhi. They further said that since Farooq has himself been vying for any of the top jobs in New Delhi, Soz's elevation could have doomed his chances forever. So, to keep his father's dream alive, Congress leaders in New Delhi maintain that Omar used all possible means to scuttle Soz's chances of becoming Vice-President.
A National Daily Sunday Guardian wrote on July 8, 2012 that Omar Abdullah camped in Delhi the whole first week of July trying to scuttle Saifuddin Soz's chances of becoming the Vice President of India. The reporter, a seasoned Journalist Nora Chopra wrote that Omar Abdullah apparently sent Sachin Pilot and some other young leaders to Ahmad Patel and others to convince them against Soz. These leaders referred to clean image of Soz and said that if he is taken out of Jammu and Kashmir, Congress would get doomed.
They further told Patel that Soz has been playing an effective role as leader of Congress and it is because of him coalition is working smoothly. They further told him that if Soz is elevated as Vice-President of the country, Congress in J&K would not only get weakened but also fall in disarray. Pilot is supposed to have told Patel that Soz was the most credible Congress leader in Jammu and Kashmir and the party needed him there.
However, as reported by the same National Daily, "An astute Patel told Soz's 'well-wishers' that Sonia Gandhi had not decided on any names and would be taking a decision after looking into all the pros and cons of the nominations. The daily went on to claim that 'Patel cited Pranab Mukherjee's example to say, however indispensable a person was, that should not come in the way of him getting bigger role.'
However, when the core committee of Congress party met, they took no time in deciding about Hamid Ansari's name. The same was assented by Sonia Gandhi. She did take a look at the candidature of Soz but preferred to go with Hamid Ansari. When Farooq heard about, one of his close aides stressed that he jumped in joy and called up one of his close friends in the media to express his happiness over the candidature of Ansari. He was also the first to pledge support for Ansari.
Omar too followed suit and congratulated Ansari for being re-nominated for the post of Vice-President. A shocked Soz returned to Srinagar to continue his party building activities. |
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