Omkar Dattatray
G20 meeting in fact is no ‘Tamasha’, it is indeed historical, epoch making and has international implications. This significant and crucial meeting will enhance the status and prestige of India and its inalienable part and parcel the Jammu and Kashmir.
The mainstream and traditional parties and leaders are uneasy and are not digesting the proposed G20 meeting in Srinagar. The G20 meeting regarding tourism proposed to be held in the summer capital Srinagar will give imputes to the J&K tourism and will bring the UT on the global tourism map and this will be no mean development by any standard. The people of Kashmir should feel privileged that such an important event is going to be held in Srinagar and it will give boost to the tourism economy of Jammu and Kashmir.
It is unfortunate and disturbing that the mainstream traditional political parties and the dynastic ones are not acknowledging and appreciating that a historical event of G20 is going to be held in Srinagar.
These parties and their leaders are belittling the significance of this historical meeting and instead of appreciating the initiative of the centre government of holding the proposed meeting in Srinagar are saying that it will obstruct the free movement of the residents of the city of Srinagar and the whole Kashmir will be brought into a police colony.
Thus according to the biased eye of the dynasts the meeting will result into inconveniences and troubles to the Kashmiris.
The mainstream political parties and their leaders including the NC leaders and former chief ministers are overlooking and underestimating the developments which the Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed post abrogation of article 370 three years back.
The fact is that the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir has made spectacular development and progress since the abrogation of so called special position and status under the controversial article 370 which is now a history.
Besides the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has paved the way for the corporate investment in the economy of the UT, but this fact is denied by the political parties of Kashmir as they turn a blind eye to the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is marching on the path of peace, development and prosperity since 5th August 2019 when historical decision was taken by the Modi government to integrate Jammu and Kashmir fully with India and thus the dream and vision of the national leader and great martyr Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee was fulfilled and realized.
It is very sad that the former chief minister Omer Abdullah and NC Vice President has tweeted that the G20 meeting is a Tamasha which is the myopic and biased and partisan view of this leaders of stature and it does not behove good that he should have spoken such language.
Another tall leaders and former chief minister and the present President of the NC Dr Farooq Abdullah has said that he is surprised why the G20 meeting has not been proposed to be conducted in Jammu and why the BJP leadership of Jammu has maintained a stoic silence on this neglect of Jammu? Farooq Abdullah should instead appreciate the fact that the government of India which also holds the presidency of the elite grouping has selected Kashmir for the conducting the G20 meeting. The hard fact is that the dynastic parties of Jammu and Kashmir have lost the power and thus they are overlooking the peace and development initiated by the Modi government and the fact is that the PM is very much concerned in the development of Jammu and Kashmir. Thus these traditional parties are only making petty politicking and they have no feeling for the people of Jammu and Kashmir and only have eye on the power and power opium has blinded these leaders and so are they ignoring and not appreciating the development of Jammu and Kashmir and are only finding fault with the BJP government and the LG administration .It is a stark reality that the common people of Jammu and Kashmir dislike militancy and they have shunned the rhetoric of autonomy, self rule and so called independence . The people of the UT are for peace ,development and prosperity and they abjure violence. These traditional parties also criticize the centre government for not holding the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and there is some truth in this opposition to the Modi government. However the home minister and the ECI has made it clear that assembly elections will be held at the opportune time.
The home minister has also assured it umpteen times that the statehood will be restored to the Jammu and Kashmir after the assembly polls. The leaders of Kashmir should put off their biased blinkers and learn to call a spade a spade but they will not do so because they believe in petty politicking and so criticize blindly all the working and functioning of the present government.
Rest mind it that the G20 meeting is no Tamasha but is an event of far reaching importance which will enhance the prestige and status of India and its Jammu and Kashmir and so all should appreciate it and the Kashmiri leaders should mind that the people of the UT know the truth and there are no takers of the myopic comment of the Omer Abdullah that G20 is a tamasha.
(The author is a columnist, social and KP activist).