NC U-turn on Article 370 is ringing alarm bells
Omar, Farooq and the NC have promised too much. But with too little power in hand and the U-turns, it seems as if they fooled people again to enjoy power
Jammu and Kashmir finally has an elected Legislative Assembly after the abrogation of Article 370.
People voted in a huge number, but the voting percentage of 2024 Jammu Kashmir elections has not been able to surpass the 2014 voter turnout. In 2014, the voting percentage was 65.84% whereas in 2024 it’s 63.45%. A significant 2.39% dip in the voting percentage.
The J&K elections of 2024 are being hailed as victory which actually is not.
The most difficult and challenging elections in Jammu and Kashmir were in 1996. It was the first elections after the rigging of 1989 Polls. Back then, people were to be motivated for voting, but in 2024, people were “motivating” the central government to hold elections.
That’s the past.
Let’s speak of the present.
After winning the 2024 elections, Chief Minster designate Omar Abdullah made a U-turn on the restoration of Article 370. Before the elections, Omar had said:
“Resolution against Article 370 First Order of business.”
But now after the NC won 42 Seats he said:
“Seeking Article 370 Restoration from the BJP is foolish.”
In another statement he said:
“The mandate is for statehood and development.”
In an interview to BBC, he said:
“Why are you asking us about the roadmap for getting Article 370 back? We will not get back from this government. Let the government change.”
The problem isn't with the statement but the change of tone soon after the results. The National Conference (NC) manifesto speaks clearly about the restoration of Article 370 after coming to power. But now they have changed the stand and just too within hours of winning the elections.
The U-turn is making people suspicious about their other promises. If we go by the logic of Omar Abdullah that we can’t get Article 370 back from the present government, then the same way, we can’t get back statehood from them because the same government revoked it.
So, the logic can be applied to PSA and Release of Political Prisoners because the UT government totally has no powers to do these things.
How will the government, especially NC firebrand leader and its face in the Parliament, Ruhullah Mehdi, justify to the people of Kashmir that this is not in their domain to remove PSA? The UT Chief Minister can just make laws related to:
- Municipal laws
- Panchayat Raj laws
- Education laws
- Health laws
- Agriculture laws
- Tourism laws
- Transport laws
- Labour laws
- Social laws
The National Conference has technically been a better player in making people forget the crimes that they have committed since 1975 till 2014, and successfully used the 2.5 years of PDP to downgrade the image of PDP.
But, after the NC U-turn on Article 370 rollback, the anger against the government has started to build up. Furthermore, while the campaigning of the NC has been to wash away their misdeeds but people still remember the crimes they did.
People still recall the brutal crimes like the Rape and murder of Asiya and Nelofar in the year 2009, killing of Tufail Mattu and Wamiq Farooq and also the hanging of Afzal Guru.
Afzal Guru’s hanging led to the fall of Omar’s government in 2014. Guru’s hanging still haunts NC, even though Omar Abdullah himself accepted that he was wrongly hanged. Now it has been 10 years since Guru breathed his last in Tihar Jail. The families of Tufail Mattu and Wamiq Farooq were made to go through a hell by the erstwhile Omar government only because they approached court to seek justice.
Not only Omar but his father Farooq Abdullah too took U-turns while as Chief Minister. The biggest U-turn of Farooq was that he backtracked on Autonomy. His Autonomy resolution was rejected by his alliance partner, the Indian National Congress.
The Autonomy Council was headed by Karan Singh, the son of Hari Singh. Singh later resigned as its head and the council died a brutal death with his resignation.
Farooq Abdullah, the one who’s being a very sympathetic guy for people of Kashmir, has a long list of misdeeds to his account. Among them the most brutal and haunting one is the creation of Ikhwan. Farooq has multiple times shared stage with the most brutal Ikhwan commanders.
The brutalities and terror spread by Ikhwans need no introduction, they are well known and are fresh in people’s mind. They were mostly the surrendered “Mujahids” [Militants] who formed a government funded and supported group known as Ikhwans.
Farooq abudullah gave a statement in the year 2010 when his son Omer Abdullah was Chief Minister. He said:
“The summers of 2010 made Omer a leader.”
It was the same summer when Kashmir saw 117 deaths due to the turmoil.
This is the reality of Farooq Abdullah. What he pretends to the world isn’t that in reality. In reality, he’s a person who has equal role to play in the sufferings of people as his son has. His betrayal of 1996 has been one of the major setbacks to Kashmir.
The NC leadership has a very big role in making people of Kashmir suffer and feel humiliated. Omar, who talks regarding the removal of PSA, is the same guy who completely dismissed the possibilities of removal of PSA in 2010 while he was chief minister.
Omar, Farooq and the NC have promised too much. But with too little power in hand and the U-turns, it seems as if they fooled people again to enjoy power.
Omar Abdullah who used to lock horns with Modi every now and then, is now very polite and respectful while mentioning him. This sudden change makes us wonder what happened overnight. The government is yet to form but the betrayals have started. All we can do is to sit and watch.
[The writer, Shahrukh bin Parvaiz, is a law student and a Human Rights defender. Views are personal.]
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