Political Correspondent
JAMMU: RSS ideologue and BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav will be in Jammu on 22nd and 23rd June. Ram Madhav was one of the main architects of the Agenda of Alliance, which has been rejected by one and all in Jammu as a “complete sellout” as well as “agenda of subversion and a new charter of bondage”. The reason is that the Agenda of Alliance is not just Kashmir-centric, patently anti-Jammu and anti-Ladakh, but also separatist and Pakistan friendly. The general perception in the nationalist camp and among the minorities in Jammu and Kashmir is that the “Agenda of Alliance has not only further pampered, appeased and empowered the already rather pampered and empowered Kashmir Valley, but also endangered national security and political future of Jammu and Ladakh and the minorities, plus refugees from West Pakistan”. The fact of the matter is that the Agenda of Alliance has only pleased Kashmir and Kashmiri separatists and not inspired anyone outside the BJP camp that is today being looked down upon by all patriotic sections of society in the State and outside the State. The fact that the people of Jammu region organised two massive Bandhs and held a torch light protest march against the BJP within a short span of just 40 days was a proof that the BJP, which was once considered the voice of Jammu and the nation, has lost its sheen and appeal and that no one in Jammu and Ladakh now takes this party seriously.
Sources within the party say that “Ram Madhav’s Jammu visit is aimed at winning over important members of civil society, including some leading members of the AIIMS Coordination Committee (ACC), so that the BJP could restore its lost political space in this region”. “He is hosting a dinner on 22nd June to important and influential members of the civil society and some members of the ACC, including its chairman, Abhinav Sharma,” sources said. Abhinav Sharma is also president of powerful Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association (JKHCBA), Jammu, and enjoys the backing of more than 100 non-political organisations. All these organisations, some of which are very powerful and have a say in the entire Jammu region and were instrumental in making the strikes against the BJP a big success, have been fighting for the cause of Jammu, as also for the establishment of the proposed AIIMS in Jammu, under the banner of the ACC. Only on 18th June, the ACC withdrew the 72-hour-long Bandh and chain hunger strike following the written commitment by BJP leaders and Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh and Forest Minister Bali Bhagat that a positive decision on the issue of AIIMS will be taken latest by July 20th. Significantly, the ACC did not withdraw its agitation; it only withdrew the call for Bandh and discontinued the chain hunger strike and left none in any doubt that it would make optimum use of the period of 30 days at its disposal to “mobilise public opinion across the region so that the BJP didn’t dare to ditch and cheat the people of Jammu region”. The point is that the ACC did accept the written commitment but with the caveat that the people of Jammu region had to prepare themselves for a full scale confrontation with the BJP in case it went back on its commitment.
During the past two days, Ram Madhav’s men in the BJP made several attempts to rope in “important” members of the ACC, including its chairman. “They have been requested to join the dinner on 22nd June to be hosted by someone on behalf of Ram Madhav. There would be interaction between him and civil society members. During the interaction, Ram Madhav could also throw light on the circumstances leading to an alliance between the PDP and the BJP, as also on the Agenda of Alliance and its significance. He would surely dispel the impression in Jammu region that Agenda of Alliance was not a bad document and it was formulated taking into account the nature of the mandate in Jammu region and Kashmir Valley,” sources within the party told this correspondent, adding that “Ram Madhav wants to create for himself a space in the ‘alienated’ Jammu region so that he could play some part in case the circumstances so warrant”.
However, sources close to the ACC told this correspondent that “chairman of the ACC Abhinav Sharma and other important members of the ACC are unlikely to oblige Ram Madhav by accepting the invitation for dinner”. “Our participation in dinner diplomacy would blacken our faces beyond recognition. We are in the middle of movement. How could we participate in dinner diplomacy when the party that is hosting the dinner is the one that forced the people of Jammu region to take to streets or that imposed not one but two Bandhs on them by hoodwinking and misleading them? It would send a wrong message and only help the BJP exploit the situation in its favour and against the ACC. Our participation in dinner diplomacy would be suicidal. It will cause an irreparable damage to our own reputation and to the cause we have taken up in right earnest,” a member of the ACC told this correspondent on the condition of anonymity.
It will become clear today itself if the ACC leadership obliged or not Ram Madhav.
