Intro: The considerations for the formation of government in Jammu and Kashmir should be done keeping present security and subsequent trajectory of the state in mind.
The formation of new government would have been an easy task if the welfare of the inhabitants had only been the prime concern of main political parties of Jammu and Kashmir. Till now there seems no headway, and fear of losing this opportunity to bring Jammu and Kashmir on the path of development, peace, prosperity and brotherhood from the clinch of separatists, propagandists and lobbyists has started rolling in the minds. For now, Jammu and Kashmir is again under the rule of Governor (this is happening for the sixth time in the history).
The calculative and patient political efforts by various parties to form government were underway in Jammu and Kashmir when on January 9, 2015 Omar Abdullah refused to continue as the caretaker chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. As a result, the Governor’s rule was imposed in the state which otherwise would have been imposed only after January 18 in case there was no consensus on government formation till this date. Governor’s rule is also a process and is rule of law but not by the selected representatives of the people. Soon after the imposition of Governor’s rule, National Congress president Omar Abdullah on January 13 wrote to Governor, offering support to PDP in the government formation.
Firstly, paving way for Governor’s rule before time and then offering support to PDP is considered a tactic of NC by political pundits to pressurise PDP to later force it to take some wrong decision. The camp PDP also seems well aware of this. “Governor’s rule is better than any alliance with NC. People voted for change. They voted against NC. It is a power-hungry party. The actions of Omar are nothing but pressure tactic to compel PDP into taking wrong decisions,” said PDP chief spokesperson Naeem Akhtar.
Clearly and overwhelmingly, the people of the state voted against the misrule of NC and Congress. And these are the same parties which are trying to become kingmakers in the coming government! First Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad rolled out an idea of so called grand collision and then NC’s offer of so called unconditional support to PDP, in the name of keeping BJP out of power, is a clear indication of these parties being power hungry.
There is no reason as to why a political party, which is ruling the nation, should be kept out from the politics of a state; the Jammu and Kashmir. BJP is a party which successfully ruled the states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan; it also has experience of ruling difficult states like Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. So, why the question of ability and intent should arise only in J&K?
Experience and willpower of Modi led BJP can be enriching for the state. Hence, it is not legitimate to do mean considerations in a region as sensitive as Jammu and Kashmir at a time when the whole world is finding it difficult to counter the Islamic propagandist machinery and almost all the countries are working hard to make it ineffective. The considerations for the formation of government should be done keeping present security and subsequent trajectory of Jammu and Kashmir in mind.
Participation of people in the elections was overwhelming throughout the state and it would be dissatisfactory if this time too, due to lobbying or personal desires, things go the way separatists desire. It would be heartbreaking to see Jammu and Kashmir going back to the square one.
Arvind ( The writer is a researcher at J&K Study Centre, New Delhi)
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