Dost Khan
Day is not far when PDP will become vociferous in attacking the saffron partner and dump it in a dust bin.
JAMMU: It was a mismatch at the onset. It was miscarriage of ideologies that saw PDP-BJP wearing wedlock amid Mufti Mohammed Sayeed chanting ‘North-Pole South-Pole’ hymns. It was a sort of ‘Muta’ marriage that Wikipedia describes as ‘a marriage which the contract stipulates will last for a fixed period of time’. Otherwise also, politics makes strange bedfellows but the PDP and the BJP are not only ideologically wayward but they had never ever a common plank to sail together. This has been hugely evident from the politics both these North- Poles and South- Poles are playing for the past 107 days.
Tariq Hamid Karra, a senior PDP leader and Member Parliament has sounded the bigul by saying his party should “rethink” on its relation with the BJP as “continuation in the coalition seems to be doing more damage to both the Kashmiris and the party”.
The confessional statement unfolds the harsh fact of PDP being a Kashmir centric party, having agenda of furthering the interests of Kashmir at the cost of two equal or perhaps more important regions of Jammu and Ladakh. With such a party heading the ‘unique’ dispensation, is welfare of the entire State assured? The BJP was not naïve about this phenomenon. They were led to forge alliance with PDP only to ensure ‘saffron’ rule in Kashmir. To the extent of giving humane and the best government to people of Kashmir, for winning their hearts and minds, anybody can swear about the sincerity of BJP. It certainly came with this mission to power, not necessarily for lust of it. The combination also went in consonance with the thinking process of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who wants to remodel his BJP as secular, perhaps more secular than the pseudo secular political parties of India. After all, he is also on his mission to shed Gujarat riots image in order to become more acceptable across the globe. In the process, the hardcore BJP compromised with the situation turning hostile in Kashmir. The saffron era will go in the annals of Indian political history as a period when frequency of waving Pakistani flags in the Valley touched zenith. The BJP Ministers in the Mufti-led government have not only reconciled with the obtaining situation of anti-India sentiment gaining momentum in Kashmir but they have also been trying to justify hoisting of the rogue nation’s flags as nothing new.
In pursuit of ‘winning over the hearts and minds of the people, the BJP has lost its stronghold and further antagonized the people of Kashmir, which is why that not only the senior PDP leader but the so-called civil society has also come out with an ultimatum to the Mufti to snap ties with the BJP. Kashmir Economic Alliance has exhorted the PDP to break away from the coalition to protest, what it called, “joke of the decade”. The provocation is over the lesser volume of central package for reconstruction and rehabilitation of the flood sufferers.
The BJP, or for that matter any other political party in the country, has never understood psyche of most of the Kashmiri mainstream politicians. Earlier, the self-centred class of politicians used to sing Indian tune when being in power but now they have become so brazen that even while tasting the loaves of power they keep on bullying the Centre and rest of the nation. Whenever their expectations (which are getting inflated with each passing day) are ‘belied’, they start playing victimhood and the Kashmiri card.
Tariq Hamid Karra has confessed that there has been no consonance between the functioning of the PDP-BJP Coalition Government from the day one. This is the perception of the equal partner in the ruling alliance notwithstanding BJP ministers playing second fiddle in their roles as ‘Special Assistants” and “Public Relations Officers” of PDP bosses rather than self respecting political executives. They have nothing at stake being equal in the tally with PDP. Both have 28 members each in the Legislative Assembly but still the BJP is behaving like a toddler. Such ‘an enviable subordination’ has never been in the State since the onset of coalition culture post eighties. Always demeaned and belittled Congress ministers never touched the lower depths like the BJP ‘paper tigers’. Inspite of this the PDP has grouse that the coalition is not functioning.
Now that Tariq Hamid Karra has taken the lid off tin of worms, BJP should get ready to listen more. The day is not far when PDP will become vociferous in attacking the saffron partner. It may dump the coalition partner in a dust bin by playing victim card and ‘persecution’ of Kashmiris by Hindutava brigade. The BJP may not find even safe passage on the face of vicious political maneuvering by PDP. That will be perhaps the time when PDP will have the last laugh.