Political Correspondent
JAMMU: The PDP-BJP coalition on Monday knelt under pressure from Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. It didn’t say that in words; it established by its concrete and definite action that it is the writ of Pakistani agents and mercenaries that runs in the State and that it will do what the Geelanis and the Mirwaizs want it do as far as possible.
It was on 1st May that Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq opposed the decision of certain authorities in the State to issue Permanent Resident Certificates (PRCs) in schools so that children do not face any difficulty in seeking admission to educational institutions. Mirwaiz opposed the good move in Srinagar while addressing the religious congregation at Jamia Masjid. And Geelani rejected the rational decision while addressing pro-Pakistan rally at Tral (Kashmir)
Addressing the pro-Pakistan rally at Tral, where Pakistani flags were also hoisted, Geelani had said that issuance of PRCs in schools was a conspiracy hatched by the PDP-BJP at the behest of the RSS to settle West Pakistan refugees through the backdoor. “We will oppose it tooth and nail,” he had said, and charged Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed with facilitating anti-Muslim agenda of RSS in Jammu and Kashmir. And addressing the religious congregation at Jamia Masjid, Mirwaiz had also expressed the similar sinister view. He had said: “It is a link to previous attempts by the government to settle WPRs in the State. They are now adopting new means by issuing State Subject Certificates in schools to provide permanent citizenship to these refugees”.
The intervention of Geelani and Mirwaiz produced the desired result on 4th May, just three days after they issued the diktat. It was not the Revenue Minister, a PDP leader, who announced that the PDP-BJP Government had realised the mistake committed by a BJP MoS, who distributed PRCs to some 40-50-odd students in schools at Kishtwar a few days ago and that the coalition government will not commit such a mistake in the future to escape the wrath of the Geelanis and the Mirwaizs. It was the Minister for Roads and Building, another PDP leader, who came forward to assuage the hurt feelings of the Geelanis and the Mirwaizs in the Valley. He declared that no PRC will be issued in schools. “There is no controversy. We will issue the State Subject Certificates according to the legal procedure only and PRCs would not be issued at the school level,” he told reporters in Srinagar.
It was not only the Geelanis and the Mirwaizs who scored a great victory over the BJP and the RSS. The reversal of the decision was also an emphatic win of the PDP over the BJP, which is the only party in India which has consistently compromised its ideology to grab power or to retain control over it. By reversing the decision, the PDP further strengthened and expanded its constituency in Kashmir. It is the BJP that lost its face yet again and became an object of ridicule and contempt. Poor BJP MoS must be sulking, as he didn’t get the required political and moral support from his own party. What an irony!
