National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah says thatwhat was needed for protecting Article 35A and Article 370 was not aninter-party strategy but a people’s mandate. Greater Kashmir’s Muddasir Alispoke with the NC leader about the upcoming elections, challenges to thestate’s special status, and a host of other issues. Excerpts:
Political parties including National Conference have been cautioning union government against any tinkering with state’s special status. Why can’t all parties come together to form a joint strategy on this sensitive issue and meet the Prime Minister?
Joint strategy for what? We don’t need a joint strategy. Weneed people’s mandate. As far as National Conference is concerned, protectingArticle 35A and Article 370 will be an integral and critical part of ourelection campaign. When we have mandate from people we will go ahead and dowhat needs to be done.
Since imposition of governor’s rule in J&K, many state laws have been amended. But the state parties including NC, except for issuing statement, did nothing?
We didn’t keep silent. At every occasion we have raised ourvoices, both in terms of statements, agitating on the streets and sendingdelegation to governor and even raised the issue with home minister in Delhi.That is why we are constantly saying that role of Raj Bhavan is to take care ofsecurity and not to make political decisions or fiddle with state laws.
You have been demanding that state and parliamentary polls should be held simultaneously. Do you think that is going to happen?
We want early elections and we have told the ElectionCommission of India that since you have been able to hold Panchayat and urbanlocal bodies’ polls and no lesser a person than Prime Minister has claimedsuccess of those elections, both the elections should be held simultaneously.People are also unhappy with the governor rule over the way it has been used tomake political decisions rather than administrative decision. That is why webelieve that the elections should be held at the earliest.
But there has been no clear indication from the Governmentof India or the ECI on holding both elections together.
There is no justification for delaying Assembly electionsunless your (New Delhi) intensions are wrong and unless you intend to continueto use Raj Bhavan to take political decisions, there is absolutely no reasonwhy you can have parliament elections and not state elections.
If and when the elections are announced what are your expectations as far as voters’ turnout is concerned?
At the moment one doesn’t have great expectations becauseclearly the situation from 2014 has deteriorated continuously. If parliamentelections take place separately from state elections then the parliamentturnout will be negligible. If both elections are held together, then turnoutwill be slightly healthier. But how much it will change one will have to see. Ionly hope sufficient number of people turn out so that if New Delhi has anydesigns for interfering with the mandateof people, that will not happen. We saw in recent Panchayat and ULB electionsthat turnout was so low that people were elected unopposed or with hardly sevenor eight votes cast. We want a situation where right person is elected and thatwill only be possible if sufficient number of people come out and vote.
If a situation arises, will NC align with the BJP post Assembly elections?
There is no question of alliance with the BJP. We are askingpeople for mandate for our own government. We are not looking for alliance.
In case BJP returns to power in Delhi and it gets mandate in Jammu, and NC is in the run, what will be your stand then?
We are not looking for a divided mandate. We will be askingpeople to repose their faith in one single party. I am telling you, we are notlooking for an alliance with BJP.
And what about possibility of alliance with PDP?
Why are you speculating. I am telling you we are asking formandate of our own. The NC is not looking for a coalition government. UnlikePDP which has said that single party rule is detrimental to the state, the NCbelieves that coalition is detrimental. Since 2002 we had coalition governmentand look at where we are today.
The GoI’s recent decision to extend two constitutional amendments to J&K has created uproar in Kashmir. While some have described it has “constitutional fraud”, senior NC leader Abdur Rahim Rather termed it blatant violation of Article 370. What is your take?
I concur with what Rather sahib said. The governor functionsin J&K as a representative or the agent of the President. How can thePresident’s own representative give concurrence which is then send to thePresident for further action? TheGovernment means the government of the people. This decision was not taken byelected government but by nominated individuals. These decisions have to bechallenged.
Does it raise questions on functioning of the Raj Bhavan?
This Raj Bhavan has taken far more political decision thanany governor in the recent past. We had governor rule in 2008, 2014 and 2016.But I don’t remember a single political decision taken that time, while as nowthere are series of political decisions being taken. The interference of centrehas grown in J&K. This has been the failure of the previous PDP-ledgovernment. This has been gift of PDP that we have a network of RSS in J&K.The interference of the centre is evident. In Delhi, despite all attempts theycan’t remove Arvind Kejriwal even when Delhi is not a full state. In spite ofthe Center being out to fix him, they can’t do anything to him because he hadmajority of his own. Same is the case with West Bengal.
But the Governor has recently said that he is not only the governor but Chief Minister as well?
He is not. The Chief Minister is not selected but elected bypeople of J&K through Legislative Assembly, and not through Presidentialorder. The governor has come through presidential order and he will go backthrough same order. Yes, we have governor rule and but enjoys power to runadministration only.
Your party had said it will challenge these amendments. When will it happen?
We are currently in discussion with various legal experts tofind out as what sort of challenge requires to be mounted. In the next few dayswe are going to challenge it. It is the question of only working out thestrategy.
In some of your recent statements you have been critical of “new parties” coming to fore in J&K. Why?
Why are new leaders made in Kashmir only? Why not in Jammu and Ladakh?
There is now third front coming up in Jammu and Ladakh and there are no new formations and leaders there. If these leaders are being created, there must be a design. People are not making these leaders. It looks like that under a plan they want to divide the vote and the voice of Kashmir to weaken us politically. I have been saying it for months that people of Kashmir should make use of their vote carefully.
There is a fear in Kashmir that there might be some tampering with Article 35A. Your comments?
I am not going to speculate, but I am reasonably confidentthat in run up to Parliament elections they will not do anything. Postparliament polls, it will depend on what Lok Sabha looks like and then we willhave to reassess our stand. Once election dates are announced protectingArticle 35A will be crucial part of our campaign.
One of the criticisms against state parties, including National Conference, is that while in power they speak one language and in opposition the language is quite different. After your tenure as Chief Minister ended you had said that you are a changed man and have learnt from mistakes? What have you learnt?
These questions will be answered not through words butthrough deeds. If I’m given opportunity to serve the state as CM again you willsee for yourself. But as far as the change in stand is concerned the PDP andits leadership has had this very visible change during and after its rule. Butwhat I said as CM, I stand by that, be it about political nature of Kashmirproblem or targeting laws which are detrimental to state. I wasn’t one who saidthat Operation All Out was in interest of the state while in power and wentcrying to the houses of dead militants after losing office.
But we also saw 2010.
It did happen. But 2010 was followed by 2011, 12, 13 and 14,the peaceful times in J&K in recent time. When you talk about 2010, I haveno objections, but please remember that 2010 was followed by arguably mostpeaceful times.
Will NC fulfill its commitment to grant divisional status to Chenab Valley and Pir Panajal, if voted to the power?
A: I have said that we will implement the regional autonomyplank of our party. We believe that giving divisional status to Ladakh was apiecemeal arrangement. We believe it should have been done in toto. There areother regions also that are claimants and deserve such status. It will be partof our election manifesto.
The situation in Kashmir continues to go from bad to worse. Your comments?
The situation is cause for concern. The security environmentneeds to be primary focus of administration. Instead of tinkering with politicsand making changes to state rules and laws, Raj Bhavan should have one focus –to improve security environment. It is not good enough that after car bombattack the governor said there was carelessness. Whose carelessness was it? Thegovernor is head of unified command. You (the governor) are in charge ofsecurity apparatus. If there were loopholes, at what level did it occur and bywhom? Who should be responsible? The governor was a politician but in RajBhavan he should not be one and should leave politics to politicians. His onlyfocus should be to improvement of security situation and that is what he is notable to do….my compliant with New Delhi started the way they handled situationin post flood situation. Today, there are people who haven’t got flood reliefyet. There have been multiple failures. To my mind the single biggest failurehas been the inability or unwillingness of the government of India to acceptpolitical nature of J&K. You haven’t handled it politically. You havehandled it as administrative problems. You have handled it as an economicproblem and a law and order and security problem while as it has all thesedimensions at the end of the day that J&K is a political problem. Itrequires political handling.
The trend of youth joining militancy in Kashmir has continued despite Operation All Out and despite killing of over 400 militants in past few years. What does it tell?
That the youngsters are still willing to pick up gun is anindication that the government of India and its policy in Kashmir has failed.It shows that PDP-BJP coalition has failed. In recent months prior to Pulwamaattack the number of youth joining militancy had started to show slightdecline. I don’t know what impact the February 14 incident will have now. Wewill have to see it.
Kashmir was on the brink last week following escalationbetween India and Pakistan and the air strikes that followed. But at the sametime it brought Kashmir back in focus at the international level.
Of course it internationalized Kashmir once again. Kashmiris back on the front pages of The NewYork Times and The Washington Post. TheEconomist is writing cover stories about J&K. The President Trump was inVietnam for a summit with North Korea and he makes a mention about situation inJ&K. and that is why there is a need to handle and move forward on Kashmirissue politically rather than looking at it as law and order problem alone.
Government has stopped advertisements to Greater Kashmir andKashmir Reader? Your comments.
I don’t understand why this decision was taken. Obviously itshows that they are trying to choke media here. They don’t want objectivecriticism. If media is raising right questions, it should be given free hand towork as it reflects what we are doing and where we are wrong. But you single out GK. Why?