NC has become a liability for Congress?

Prevarication on AFSPA makes Congress lose credibility in J&K?

From Khajuria S Kant in Jammu?

National Conference’s new spokesperson, a family man of Abdullahs continues to indulge in ‘misadventures’ by making statements, one after the other which are proving to be disastrous not only in the present political environment of the State but in particular to Congress as alliance partner of the ruling government.

While directly blaming Army for current spurt in grenade blasts, Dr Kamaal has gone unusually whole hog against the party that installed NC back into power in 2009. Significantly, his tantrums began within days of his induction as his party’s ‘only spokesman’ and additional General Secretary last fortnight.

Even as the NC President and the Union Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah has been telling everybody around in New Delhi that Dr Kamaal would be pacified by the party in a couple of days, those conversant with his behaviour for decades are said to be highly sceptical. Munna bhai lage raho is reportedly the pat from the party. At least two of Soz loyalists, both Ministers in Omar Abdullah’s Cabinet, are understood to have sweared to AICC General Secretary incharge Jammu & Kashmir that NC’s enfant terrible had “full support” from key members of the Sheikh dynasty—Dr Farooq Abdullah, General Secretary Sheikh Nazir Ahmed and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Even after Dr Abdullah purportedly called his younger brother and advised him against creating any space for Congress-PDP patch-up, Dr Kamaal continued to fire his salvos on Congress with total impunity. “Farooq sahib was angry with me. He spoke to me on phone and told me not to speak against Congress. But I have no hesitation in saying that Congress is a problem”, Dr Kamaal reportedly told Kashmir News Service.

In the same interview, Dr Kamaal dug into the roots of the NC-Congress bonhomie while disputing existence and authenticity of so-called Indira-Abdullah Accord of 1975. According to him, it was never inked as the Congress chief Indira Gandhi played tricks with Sheikh Abdullah. “If version of Congress is right on 1975 agreement then why then Chief Minister Mir Qasim wrote in his book that the exercise wasn’t complete. Sheik and Indira had nominated G Parthasarthy and Mirza Afzal Beg to look into those laws which were passed between 1953 to 1975 in violation of autonomy which J&K had. And they prepared a document on 86 laws out of 92. Rest of the five which included jurisdiction of Supreme Court, CAG, Election Commission, Wazeer-e-Azam and the Sader-e-Riyasat were left to Indira and Sheikh to decide,” he is quoted to have said.

“Sheikh smelt rat in it. He was supposed to go to Delhi but when he didn’t get the assurance he refused to sign the document. Let them (Congress) show me signatures of Indira and Sheikh on the 1975 accord,” he said. “They are insulting a political party which has been at forefront for the emancipation of people from 1938,” Dr Kamaal is reported to have assailed Congress.

A day after publicly castigating Prof Soz and Congress party’s Cabinet Minister in Omar Abdullah’s Council of Ministers, Taj Mohiuddin, Kamaal overtly charged Congress with impeding and denying autonomy to J&K. “They don’t seem to have reconciled to the tragedy which happened with people and NC from 1953 till date. They are trying to erase the history. It will haunt them today and tomorrow. They should no longer play tricks with us”, Kamaal is reported to have warned and remarked on Congress. Not a naive or novice in politics Mustafa is uttering all what he has been ever since ‘entrusted’ with new job by the party high command , apparently to nourish his party’s constituency in Kashmir.

Congress too is not ignorant about the implications and negative fallout it can have on their constituency. The moot question remains why Congress is tolerating all that comes in damaging doses from Kamaal and why it chooses to play these down by ignoring and not reacting to the accusations first against Army and now directly blaming New Delhi?

The Congress either at the local level or New Delhi have conveniently chosen to give deaf ears to Kamaal’s uttering. Congress silence has only resulted in emboldening the courage and boldness of Kamaal by the day which reflects in the tone and tenor of his statements which have now reached blaming New Delhi for committing all wrongs in Kashmir for decades. While the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah himself as also his spokesperson Uncle appear to be hell bent to humiliate, defame and undermine the dignity of Congress , despite being its alliance partner, the latter’s silence and its strength to bear this disrespect shown directly from ruling ally is quite surprising.

With Kamaal’s statements in series against Congress silence raises the question again and again that why the party is in such a damaging mode. Whatever response has come so far is only an ‘advising’ note asking NC leadership to tell its spokesperson to maintain restraint while opening his mouth. However, this is only being seen as a token reaction whereas the same should have been on a harsh and castigating note, at least on the comments he has brazenly made against Army and now New Delhi. One fails to understand why Congress is allowing NC to consolidate its political ground at the cost of its own ground which is getting slippery and weak by the day. What is the compulsion that holds back Congress in not even asking ruling partner to stop humiliating it publicly.

What is even more astonishing is the fact that Congress on the contrary goes on to pamper and safeguard NC interests by prompt announcements that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is there to be in the chair for full six years term and there is no question of changing the guard. One can understand the proximity of Omar with Rahul Gandhi or his direct approach with Chidambaram or others who matter in New Delhi that makes him undermine the local leadership including PCC chief Prof Saif-u-Din Soz. One can also understand the assessment and understanding of New Delhi about sensitivities of J&K State on account of which they cannot afford to let coalition break or get weakened in present circumstances. But turning deaf ears to bashing at its extreme by the lone basher Kamaal at the cost of its image and ground makes no sense nor can it be taken as a compulsion of the coalition anymore, if the spree continues like this. NC leadership will keep on playing to gallery in the same manner but can Congress afford to tolerate such tactics for long…?

The specific grouse of the JKPCC chief was that the Chief Minister made the announcement without consulting his coalition partner. What Soz said once again proved that the relations between the NC and the Congress are far from normal and that the Chief Minister has been ignoring the JKPCC.

“This is simply not done that National Conference despite being an alliance partner, it is spreading hatred against Congress upon which it is totally dependent for its survival. Ironically this all is a family affair as the main faces of its three-pronged strategy are the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Union Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah and his sibling and former minister Dr Mustafa Kamaal. While the first two faces make reconciliatory gestures, it is the third face which is the major irritant,” a senior PCC member states while referring to a sequence of venomous statements of Dr Kamaal made in the last one year or so as a part of his unrelenting tirade against Congress.

“Last year he claimed that his father and NC patriarch Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah wanted to die in prison to fight last war with India as he had realised that New Delhi betrayed him, NC time and again. In July, 2010 when the Valley was on the boil, in the most objectionable way, he had described Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the extension of Congress while accusing it of fomenting trouble there. He had accused Congress and PDP of hatching a conspiracy to weaken NC in the Srinagar city. He did not stop there only,” senior vice president of PCC said. “Although even that time Dr Farooq Abdullah had publicly admonished him (Dr Kamaal) for his statements, yet that admonition was too late and too little. In fact he was promoted to the post of spokesperson,” he pointed out.

The issue under scrutiny is what is Kamaal up to? The manner in which he is abusing, taunting, insulting and ridiculing the Congress; the way he is questioning the State’s accession with India; and the manner in which he is taking about the Army, all indicate that he is working as per a plan. It appears he wants the NC to break ties with the Congress on the issues of AFSPA and the Army so that the NC is able to recapture the lost political space in the Kashmir Valley.

The Congress itself is responsible for its woes and humiliations. Had it asserted its authority from time to time and told the Chief Minister to behave failing which the Congress would have its own way, things today would not have assumed such dangerous proportions and Omar Abdullah would have thought hundred times before making any statement unilaterally.

It is the Congress which has allowed the Chief Minister and his NC to flout the cardinal principles of coalition dharma. It’s time for the Congress to assert its authority and play a constructive role taking into account the fact that the NC has become a liability.