Friday, March 29, 2024
 
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Omar is partially right




By Yash Bhasin




During his visit to Jammu, the first one after becoming National President of BJP, Amit Shah gave call to the people of J&K to give go by to the dynastic rule and dynastic politics of Abdullas and Muftis. On his visit to R S Pura to personally assess the problems being faced by the people on the international border, due to constant and heavy Pak firing on Indian posts and even in civilian areas, which killed 2 members of a single Gujjar family and injuring 5 civilians, besides killing a BSF Jawan. The panic ridden border people have migrated to safer places, in camps where they are lodged by the administration. Amit Shah criticized the state government for not taking adequate steps to provide relief to the border migrants and no state minister or even any senior leader of ruling coalition visiting there to console and show solidarity with the suffering migrants.




Replying to the allegations, the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah threw the ball on the Central Government, which is mainly responsible for defending the borders as well as LOC and taking adequate steps to check frequent violation of ceasefires by Pakistan and pushing infiltrators into this side of J&K. He also criticized for no Union Minister visiting the border or LOC. However, BJP President Amit Shah was the first Central leader of any party to visit R S Pura and take stock of the problems being faced by the border migrants, living under continuous firing from across the border, risking their lives and undergoing all other hardships. Before this State BJP President and MP from the constituency, Jugal Kishor Sharma and some other leaders of BJP had visited R S Pura and other affected areas. Besides some Panthers party leaders, including Prof. Bhim Singh also visited there. But no Minister of the ruling coalition or even any MLA of NC and Congress has visited to meet the border people. Above all Union Home Minister Raj Nath Singh is visiting Jammu border areas on August 29 to personally take stock of the situation and problems of the people there. So Omar Abdulla’s counter attack on the Center is not justified. The situation on IB and LOC also vindicates Union Government rejecting Omar Abdulla’s repeated demands for withdrawl of AFSPA.

However, as far as Omar Abdulla holding Central government responsible for dynastic order in J&K and advising Amit Shah to first amend their own house and give this advise to the NDA alliance party, hinting at dynastic rule of Badhal in Punjab and dynastic politics in Shiv Sena. However, no one can point out accusing fingers on BJP on this count. BJP is the only party which does not encourage and follows dynastic succession either in the center or in the states ruled by the party. Anurag Thakur the son of former HP Chief Minister of BJP government and presently leader of the opposition party in that state is President of BJYM, the youth wing of BJP, on his own right and the services rendered by him as well as his ability and quality of leadership. He has risen to the position not on account of his father’s position in the party. So is the case with Varun Gandhi, MP from Sultanpur on his own right, work and capability and not on account of his mother Menika Gandhi, Union Minster in the NDA government in the center. So is the case with the son of Raj Nath Singh. The BJP can however, not dictate terms to its alliance partners about dynastic politics being followed by them.



Coming to the dynastic succession in Jammu & Kashmir and not letting true democracy to strengthen in J&K, the successive Central Governments of Congress on its own or in alliance with regional parties, have the main responsibility. Right from the days of transfer of power to Sheikh Abdullah, to bring the end of Dogra dynastic rule in the state, the Union governments have been responsible for perpetuating dynastic succession and dynastic politics, besides denying democratic rights to the people of state to choose their own representatives with their free will and the governments to rule the state.

Nehru put all the eggs in the basket of, his friend Sheikh Mohd Abdullah, dismissing all complaints and allegations of Sheikh Abdullah’s authoritarian rule, not tolerating any opposition. The first elections in J&K for the Constituent Assembly, which was later converted to Legislative Assembly, was rigged whole hog. The nomination papers of almost all the candidates from opposition parties, mainly the Praja Parishad were rejected on totally unjustified reasons, including the clerical mistakes in the names of opposition candidates in the electoral rolls, which were in Urdu. All the Muslim opponents of Sheikh Abdullah either from Kashmir or from Jammu were pushed across the border to Pakistan dubbing them as Pak agents. Opponents of Abdullah in Jammu were put behind the bars, dubbing them communalists or stooges of Maharaja Hari Singh and Dogra ruling dynasty. The only newly formed opposition party in Jammu, the Praja Parishad was forced to boycott the elections. The single independent candidate, belonging to Schedule Caste Babu Milkhi Ram who dared to fight the election against NC candidate from Jammu was manhandled, beaten mercilessly by NC goons as well as the police and thrown out from the counting hall. All the 73 candidates of NC were declared elected arbitrarily. The Union government not only remained silent spectator` of this murder of democracy, but also supported it.



This things did not stop here, after Sheikhs Abdulla’s arrest and dismissal of his government in 1953, as a result of his real mindset and intention getting exposed in the wake of prolonged and powerful agitation launched in Jammu by Parja Parishad, his successor Bakshi Gulam Mohd was also given free hand and his word was the law of the state. The rampant corruption set in motion by Sheikh Abdullah government, got further impetus during Bakshi regime. All his wrongs were tolerated and even supported by the Nehru government in the center. When it reached its crescendo, his bluff to submit his resignation under Kamraj plan, was caught and his resignation accepted. He installed his puppet Shamas Din as his successor, which was not to the liking of Nehru and other Congress leaders in the country. Lal Bahdur Shastri was deputed by Nehru to convince Bakshi in Centre installing G M Sadiq as Prime Minister of the state. Sadiq’s regime was comparatively democratic though corruption continued unabated.




• Sadiq is also credited for extending several provisions of Indian constitution to J&K, including the change in the nomenclature of state PM to CM and Sadare-Riyasat to governor, the latter to be appointed by the President of India and not elected by J&K legislature as was the case with Sadare-Riyasat. With Sheikh Abdulla again handed over power in the sate, dynastic succession followed, by Prime Minister Indra Gandhi personally visiting Kashmir for smooth succession from Sheikh Abdullah to his son Dr Farooq Abdullah, whose son Omar Abdullah succeeded Dr Farooq, on the intervention of Rahul Gandhi, though NC had projected Farooq Abdullah as its candidate for the post of Chief Minister in 2008 assembly elections. The Congress joined the coalition government with NC on this condition set by Rahul Gandhi and the Congress high command.

(The Author is a senior journalist of J&K State)


(Opinions expressed in write-ups/articles/Letters are the sole responsibility of the authors and they may not represent the scoopnews.in)


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