Dost Khan
JAMMU: Continued alliance of Peoples’ Democratic Party with Bharatiya Janata Party is something which fits perfectly well in the scheme of things of National Conference, a party bruised in the 2014 elections and reduced to number three-a phenomenon that has never happened in its chequered history, spanning over eight decades. And, anything hurting the NC most at current spell of political stalemate in Jammu and Kashmir, in the aftermath of Mufti Mohammed Sayed’s departure, will be Congress replacing the BJP in any arrangement of the government formation with Mehbooba Mufti as Chief Minister.
Mehbooba Mufti is not naïve about this political reality. She anticipates the challenges ahead of her party in case the PDP continues its tie-up with BJP, firmed up by her father. The events that unfolded in the wake of the departure of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed have really shocked the crusader that Mehbooba Mufti is, who nurtured a party to grow as a force to reckon with in short span of over a decade and half. Muftis gave Abdullahs a real tough time. But at the end of the day, the senior Mufti failed to draw the attention a veteran leader like him ought to have after his departure.
Presence of just 3,500 people, including officials and over 1,200 security personnel, must be weighing high on the mind of Mehbooba Mufti. The opening of shops in the home-town also reflected peoples’ indifference. She understands that the scenario would have been quite different, had Mufti Sayeed preferred not to tie up with BJP last year. She knows that her father did not get a befitting farewell. In the Valley, where even brute terrorists, attract thousands in their funeral procession, the Mufti’s Namaz-e-Janaza at Srinagar and burial in Bijbehara turned out to be a very low key affair. Ironically, in the same town, on 25th November 2015, thousands of people from peripheral villages joined, amidst complete shut-down, in the funeral procession and Namaz-e-Janaza of hard core terrorists, Adil Ahmad Shiekh and Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, both residents of Bijbehara, killed in an encounter
Mehbooba Mufti, like millions in Kashmir, know that 10 lakh people had paid a tearful adieu to Sheikh Abdullah, marching from Polo Ground to Hazratbal, where he was buried on 8th September 1982 despite having, what his opponents blamed then, betrayed the people by burying the core issue of plebiscite.
Tie up with BJP has cost the PDP most. This may be motivating factor for Mehbooba Mufti not to have taken any call to form the government so far. Believing shock factor as reason for doing so will be to undermine the drive and commitment of Mehbooba Mufti towards her people. She is not the one who can shun responsibility even at the gravest moment of her personal loss. There is more than what BJP has been making out. Remember, it is BJP which has been claiming that Mehbooba Mufti could not drive to Raj Bhawan for being sworn-in because of the bereavement. The PDP does not believe so.
In fact, Mehbooba Mufti must not be perturbed only over the public response to her father’s death but her despair is understandable as Mufti Sayeed did not get his due by the government at the Centre, to which his party remained an ally. The PDP President must be feeling bad about Prime Minister Narendra Modi not visiting ailing Mufti Sayeed at the AIIMS or making it to Srinagar to pay homage to the departed leader. After all, Modi’s mentor and leader Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had come all the way from New Delhi to Gupkar Srinagar, along with his Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and Defence Minister George Fernandes on 11th July 2000 to participate in the last rites of Begum Akbar Jehan, mother of the then Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, even as she was not holding any official position. This time around a sitting Chief Minister had passed away.
PDP is aghast over the development post Mufti Sayeed’s departure. Its leadership has woken up to gruesome truth about fast dwindling public support, mainly because of its tie up with BJP. The feeling of the party cadre is reflected in the outburst of disgruntled Tariq Hameed Karra, MP from Srinagar, who has minced no words in saying that in the obtaining situation, “when there is high sentiment against the BJP-RSS (in Kashmir), the need is to form a government headed by Mehbooba with secular forces particularly the Congress”.
The suggestion put-forth by the PDP MP is not only disturbing for the BJP, which will lose face, as also the chances of being in the government, but for the National Conference as well that may be quite uncomfortable with Mehbooba Mufti staging political comeback. For NC, the alliance between PDP and BJP will serve its political objective of wiping out Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s party from the Kashmir landscape.