Jammu, June 23: Will they make it or mar it? The day when all the high-profile invitees have already set off for New Delhi to participate in the meeting to be convened by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, guesses are flying high.
Will they be able to present their agendas in the meeting? None has an answer. Not even the invitees!
How and what is conveyed and by whom in what tone and tenor will hold the key to the success of this initiative, political observers opine.
National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other constituents of People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) have made it explicit that they will raise their agenda related to the restoration of Article 370 and 35-A.
Going by yesterday’s PAGD presser after its constituents’ deliberations, however, the guarded reaction was too obvious. This is suggestive of the fact they too realise that this meeting is crucial for them.
“Not just the Centre is in a bind, you talk of international ramifications or domestic compulsions, the parties too are faced with a prickly question of their existence. So even if they raise the issue they’ll start with soft issues before graduating to the harder ones to set the right chords. However, the PAGD constituents will, themselves, be wary of impulsive Mehbooba, who is often dubbed as soft separatist by the BJP leaders. The way she reacted in a very restrained manner in yesterday’s presser, cautiously choosing her words was indicative of the fact that Dr Farooq, Tarigami prevailed over her. She acted like a rational and mature leader when she talked about CBMs and release of prisoners. These issues will strike a chord with the central leadership, which too seems to be more than willing to go softer on such issues rather than discussing the ‘forbidden zone’ for it,” says a Peoples Conference leader, who was earlier in the PDP. He chooses to remain anonymous.
But why should the Centre be so touchy, not to allow even the mention of Article 370 and Article 35-A. Will it be problematic if Mehbooba or others talk about its restoration? “No, it should not be. It’s their view point and they should be allowed to convey whatever they want to,” suggests veteran journalist, political analyst Arun Joshi.
“That is important if they can air it. It is not necessary that when you put your point of view across the table, that it will be accepted. But a middle path can always be found out. We should not be forgetting that if we don’t allow the Kashmiri leadership to raise certain issues then there is Pakistan already raising those issues. So to pre-empt Pakistan, it is important that the Government of India should talk to its own people and allow them to convey their narrative freely,” Joshi avers.
Only avoidable point here will be the propaganda which may vitiate the initiative, political observers caution.
Not just political observers but even the people back in J&K are aware – their leaders have a penchant for playing to the gallery. In the process, there have been occasions when they end up only embarrassing and bruising their targeted audience yet allowing the other side to have a last laugh. People, in general, dread that scenario.
Peoples Conference and J&K Apni Party, even spelling out their agendas, have displayed adequate flexibility in their approach. As far as Congress and BJP are concerned, they will be there playing second fiddle to their central leadership.
Another interesting phenomenon, being observed as an off-shoot of the invite by the Prime Minister pertains to contrasting reactions of the two regions of J&K.
As political parties, being quite vocal about their respective agendas, reassured their political constituencies of championing their cause in the meeting, Kashmir remained nonchalant. Churning remained within; not visible on the surface with the majority posing as if it was indifferent to the developments. Though surely, it was not.
However, in contrast, Jammu remained volatile, in its reaction. Cross sections of the society, disenchanted with their leadership, were perturbed and minced no words in suggesting that their voices would be suppressed. “Those, who could effectively present Jammu’s view point and a counter to the Kashmir-centric narrative in the meeting, were not invited,” they rued.
But does this viewpoint hold any ground, actually? Have Jammu voices been ignored?
Joshi responds to these queries. “We should be asking this question to ourselves – Where is Jammu leadership? And who is Jammu leader? I mean question is – if they’ve invited five or six people from Kashmir, an equal number of people have been invited from Jammu also. Ravinder Raina is there. Two former Deputy Chief Ministers i.e., Nirmal Singh and Kavinder Gupta are there. Another former Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, representing Congress has been invited. Then Bhim Singh is there. So if they don’t represent Jammu, they cannot become a voice of Jammu, I don’t know who else will speak.”
“All said and done, the only person who has made certain observations about Jammu is Devender Singh Rana of National Conference. He has gone, to some extent, I mean, he has taken a very bold step of challenging the Kashmir centric policies of his own party. That way, being bold, being a leader is something different than just being a spokesperson or a person pursuing a particular political ideology without applying the mind,” Joshi adds.
Amid the mind-boggling opinions and agendas being spelt out by different sections of the society besides the key players (read invitees), a hilarious observation comes from a middle-rung Congress leader.
Presently in the role of an anonymous fence-sitter, he presents an amusing analysis of the situation, though with particular reference to the invitees who have spelt out agendas. “See the situation can be likened to an examination centre, where all the examinees are very confident that they are well prepared to tackle anything out of the mugged up syllabus. But, lo and behold, the shrewd examiners have come out with a preposition, which is out of syllabus leaving the examinees dumbfounded.”
“Given that situation, former Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beig, has played smart. He, though prepared for all situations, has wisely chosen not to reveal his cards to be displayed at the meeting, which has no fixed agenda. Remember, Modi-Shah duo is known for their immaculate ability to spring a surprise,” he chuckles.
But this anonymous fence-sitter also strikes a rational note, “Keeping one’s fingers crossed, one just hopes that the much-hyped meeting should not prove to be a dud – following the proverbial lines of ‘eat, meet and cheat.’ Both sides have an equal responsibility to make this opportunity a meaningful exercise. After all, it is better to engage and get engaged, rather than playing a spoil-sport in an excitement or due to lack of political maturity and closing a much sought after opening.”