JAMMU: At this point in time when Jammu is experiencing not a very happy situation as the terror activities have diverted its attention from development to countering terrorism, political parties should have risen to the occasion by drawing a roadmap to defeat terrorism. This is as much crucial as the security forces fighting terrorism from borders to the hinterland.
NEWS ANALYSIS
The stakes of Jammu are highest at the moment. The political parties have a special responsibility to play a positive role in shaping a narrative that would boost confidence of the people and invigorate the atmosphere to resist the forces opposed to the development and progress of the region.
Jammu is wandering in a state of little confusion, which is to put things quite mildly. The situation is a little bit fragile because of the mounting terror activities, which may not constitute terror attacks but these are manifestations of violent terrorism. There are many instances in which Pakistan has been able to penetrate into the normalcy and disrupt it in few pockets with an overall impact on the mood of the people. A sense of uncertainty is being injected in the atmosphere. Undoubtedly, J&K police and other security agencies are fighting these fear-infusing activities. The people have full confidence in the security forces that have kept the things stable in the most adverse circumstances in the past.
Jammu’s problems cannot be addressed in isolation. These need to be articulated, understood by the powers that be, and accordingly solutions need to be worked out by making the people as the stakeholders. Here the political groups, be that BJP, Congress, National Conference or few other groups they need to come on the same page. But unfortunately, it has been noticed with alarming rapidity that these parties display their concern over the terrorism by blaming one another.
There is an undeniable truth that BJP has been at the helm of affairs in J&K in the recent years, both in terms of its political standing and administrative reach. The party rules at the Centre and has been in control of all affairs of Jammu and Kashmir. It is equally true that ever since the party took over the reins of the country, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Jammu and Kashmir came out of the dark shadows and saw the sunrise of a participative democracy – the Assembly elections preceded by Lok Sabha elections last year offered an irrefutable evidence of the changed situation.
It was impossible to think of people queuing up for voting outside polling booths, and voting with their faces visible to the cameras; there was no trace of fear or attempt to hide the faces while waiting for their turn to vote. All this was made possible by the Modi government that invested in peace and development and helped democracy to grow at the grassroots level.
Jammu wanted to be equal partner in the benefits that flowed with the completion of the democratic exercises. The elections were free of any untoward incident. But after the elections, there have been some disturbing incidents. This has led to political slugfest. National Conference and its ally Congress have picked holes in the BJP’s anti-terrorism strategies and mocked full normalcy claims. The leaders of these two parties have made some stinging remarks against the saffron party. And, not to be left behind, the local BJP leaders, continue to dig the past and remind NC, Congress and PDP that what was the situation during their times. The saffron party has also been hitting at ruling NC and its allies for pedaling narratives that help, directly and indirectly, the inimical forces.
All these parties are mature enough and they know what the truth is. Politicizing the situation may prove counterproductive. This is not the time or political squabbling but to summon the courage to evolve a consensus how terrorism should be countered. Rise to the occasion. Jammu’s future is at stake.