BLUNT BUTCHER
JAMMU: On Wednesday when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee started her long march from Parliament House to Rashtrapati Bhawan, she was joined by one of the most popular Indian politicians on twitter, Omar Abdullah.
Though there were other parliamentarians, who formed part of the Mamta’s delegation but spotlight remained on former J&K Chief Minister and Working President of the National Conference.
Ever since losing his chair, he remained active, at least on the twitter, and grabbed many a headlines by posting sharp reactions to current events.
Even when Kashmir was going through the worst phase of unrest in the aftermath of killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani, Omar remained at the forefront and worked hard to pressurise the PDP-BJP alliance government and exposed their poor governance.
As opposition leader in the State Assembly, he even led a team of state opposition leaders and met President and Prime Minister in New Delhi urging them to intervene and address the issue of Kashmir ‘politically’.
Candid reactions and tweets posted by Omar always triggered serious debates and attracted lot of traffic but it appears by joining hands with Mamta Banerjee, who is already under scanner for her alleged involvement in ‘Saradha scam’ Omar has committed a blunder.
As a former Chief Minister he should have weighed his options and sensed the mood of the Nation and other opposition parties before joining the march. He ought to have emulated Congress, once a natural ally of the National Conference, which though opposed the move of demonetisation did not seek its rollback. On the contrary, Mamta Banerjee does not only sought withdrawal of the note-change but also calls it like financial emergency.
Also, the Congress and Left party leaders decided against joining the march but it remains a mystery who provoked and what prompted mature politician in Omar Abdullah that he failed to read writing on the wall and joined the bandwagon. Interestingly, his father and former Union Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah stayed away from the march and spent time addressing his party workers. But the junior Abdullah could not have taken such a huge decision without consulting his father. If so, have the Abdullah’s have fallen in the trap of Mamta Banerjee.
Omar also failed to read the mood of the nation against those corrupt politicians in India who never took such a bold step to root out blackmoney from the system. Political pundits observed, “Omar has lost his stature by standing tall behind Mamta Banerjee already feeling the pinch of Union Government’s crusade against blackmoney”.
