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DOST KHAN
JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir politicians have always played spoilsport by demonstrating insensitivity and callousness whenever people needed them the most. They have not only let their own people down but also caused a deep dent to nation’s credibility from time to time. The morass Kashmir is in for the past two and half decades owes its genesis to misdeeds of self-centred and deceptive politicians to a large extent. Pakistan alone cannot be held responsible for germinating growth of cancerous cells in the once saintly Valley. Politicians cannot escape share of the blame for giving space to non-entities and rif-raff of Kashmir society, making them indispensable and most sought after.
From eruption of militancy to spread of secessionist virus, politicians have immensely contributed to the morass, one way or the other. They did not learn any lesson even after finding their space shrinking in the wake of militancy in nineties. Those were the times when almost all of them were made to run for their lives in plains of Jammu, Delhi and elsewhere. Nobody had believed situation becoming conducive for them to return back and participate in political activity again. However, the impossible was made possible by the sacrifices of valiant soldiers and pointed initiatives of the Centre in 1996 with a hope that those getting chance to govern will give a fair, transparent and accountable administration to people in order to earn their confidence and to alienate those who had taken the centre-stage in Kashmir. But they failed miserably. They faltered in giving a just and responsive administration. They scripted a saga of loot and plunder, as if it was for now to amass as much as one could lay hands at. Instead of earning the trust and confidence of people, they alienated them further thus leaving a space for anti national forces to chip in. They terribly let down the nation, which had opened up its coffers to rebuild Kashmir. In the process, however, they built their own castles. They ensured better and prosperous future for their generations. Corruption has eaten up the vitals of rotten society.
While Pakistan backed separatists flourished on the graves of innocent Kashmiris, those claiming to have mainstream identity sustained their enterprise on the miseries of the people of Jammu, KIashmir and Ladakh. They took no mercy in snatching the ‘simple two morsels’ from the starving people. Kashmir is reeling under crisis, not only on security front but also on other fronts. Floods have created unprecedented havoc in parts of Srinagar besides south Kashmir and put the life in haywire. The people are looking for succour. What could be the level of apathy of rudderless administration than the system playing truant with people braving nature’s wrath. Instead of finding sincere shoulders to lay their heads on, they are suffering at the hands of plunderers each moment, forcing them to take to inundated streets for the share of relief pouring in from outside the State, day in and day out. In a panic reaction and to save the face, the administration was forced to arrest three officials of the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution System for embezzling rations meant for the flood victims. Complaints of mismanagement are pouring in from everywhere. And the anti-climax of this grim situation is that the coalition partners are publicly fighting over omissions and commissions in relief and rehabilitation.
Congress, the junior partner in the Omar led government, has gone on record complaining that assessment of flood damage was being done in a biased manner. It has demanded that the report prepared by State Government in this regard be made public. Going a step further, the Congress has alleged that flood assessment reports of the Revenue Department favoured supporters of a particular political party. Notwithstanding the fact that revenue portfolio is held by a junior minister belonging to Congress, the party says, “Politicians appear to be interfering with the process of identifying victims who have suffered damage to property and loss of livelihoods. It is shameful that even at a time of such a calamity, people are playing politics.” The allegation itself amounts to playing to galleries for the sake of votes. This is just one of the numerous instances how Kashmir politics has plagued in recent years. It appears to be beyond any repair lest a campaign is launched to cleanse the murky politics of Jammu and Kashmir. The State craves for a ‘Swachh Rajneeti Abhiyan’. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi can wait.
