ANCHOR
Dr Shahid
Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s death has pushed Jammu and Kashmir in an unprecedented political uncertainty where non-entities, in terms of numbers in the Legislative Assembly, have become highly pro-active and, in a way, restive over absence of a democratic government. National Conference is in the forefront. It has stepped up a campaign to pressurise Mehbooba Mufti to form the government or else vacate turf for electoral battle. Interestingly, the main opposition is citing peoples’ sufferings as a reason for expeditious government formation notwithstanding the State being in safer hands of Governor N.N Vohra, who is not only an able administrator but also credited of being one of the top eight bureaucrats India had since Independence.
Ironically, the National Conference is invoking ‘morality factor’, saying that people have mandated PDP and BJP to govern and hence they cannot escape from their responsibilities. This exposes hypocrisy of the party which did not wait even for a few days to head the interim or caretaker government after being voted out of power in 2002 and 2015. Both times the State was pushed to brief Governor’s Rule, which has never happened anywhere across the country during transition of governments after electoral process.
Now that Mehbooba Mufti is taking her own time in deciding government formation, the NC is getting peevish, less for the larger interest of the State and more for political reasons. How come a political party becomes charitable and concerned about the future of opponents rather than safeguarding its own interests?
Past few days’ tirade by the National Conference and smaller other parties over the government formation is actually a smart ploy to corner PDP. The marginalised BJP does not figure in their scheme of things. They want to push PDP to the wall keeping in view large scale resentment against it in the Kashmir Valley, obviously for aligning with Sangh Parivar. The damage caused during the past ten months is weighing high on the mind of Mehbooba Mufti, who is taking guarded steps in deciding future course of action. Taking advantage of PDP’s marshy standing, the political opponents are employing all tactics to influence her decision.
Farooq Abdullah has been highly sarcastic in cornering PDP. He says only Mehbooba Mufti and BJP can end the ongoing political stalemate by continuing the “compromise formula” that Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had entered into ten months back. The jibe is visible. On the one hand he wants her to end the political statement and on the other he describes tie-up as a compromise formula. If it was not enough, he takes vicarious pleasure in assuming an advisory role by asking the two coalition partners to sit together and resolve differences, if any, “the way Mufti Sahab would do”. He sees no problem in the two coalition partners in walking together, saying, “Both the parties have entered into a compromise formula during Mufti Sahab’s time to keep Jammu and Kashmir united. The same formula is still relevant and if they have to remember Mufti Sahab, then they should go ahead to form the government so that people get relief.” The intentions are very clear.
The NC Chief wants to see PDP-BJP reaffirming alliance again, primarily to make his arch rival vulnerable to peoples’ hate. His party wants to dismantle base of PDP at grass roots level in order to have a smooth sail for National Conference in the event of bye-elections becoming inevitable. Having failed to politically counter PDP since 1999, the National Conference has got an opportunity in a platter to ground the opponent on the issue of “bringing RSS” to the Valley and making impossible possible by creating a space for the BJP to enter into power corridors, something which had never been comprehended. The electors of the Valley are yet to reconcile with PDP’s political sagacity in joining hands with BJP. Mehbooba Mufti understands this, which is perhaps the motivation for delay in government formation. In the current state of dilemma, she must be analyzing pros and cons of the moves her party is chartered to take in days to come. And during the time intervening, the high voltage interventions and provocations of the National Conference may create tensions but the PDP President seems to be in no mood to buy the bait.
