Jammu missing from J&K government: Ram Madhav

Srinagar, Oct 27: BJP’s in-charge for the recent Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, Ram Madhav, has said that the government is not completely representing the entire J&K and that Jammu is missing from it.

He termed the ruling party National Conference’s mandate from Kashmir as disappointing, saying “it managed to form the government with just the support from the valley.”

Madhav said he believes BJP is not “a pariah in Kashmir. People are not only open to listening to us, some of them come forward to vote also.” “We have to work on these strengths now,” he told The Indian Express.

“In Gurez, our candidate came very close to victory. In another constituency in south Kashmir, considered to be a stronghold of the hardliners, one of our candidates secured more than 7,000 votes,” he said.

Madhav said that as far as politics and elections are concerned, Kashmir in now like any other state in the country. With a peaceful election and a large number of participations, Kashmir has a government today, he said.

“The process of institutional realignment that started in August 2019 has been completed…That’s the message to the entire world,” said the BJP leader. The biggest message for the political class, Madhav said that people in Kashmir want whatever you are doing to be presented as part of the administrative process.

“If you subject us (Kashmiris) to any humiliation or patriotism test, we will react differently. But if you offer changes as administrative necessity for the good of the people in the state, we will cooperate,” Madhav said.

Although the National Conference emerged as the single largest party with 42 seats out of 90, clinching a majority with its allies Congress and CPI(M), the BJP finished as the second largest party, bagging 29 seats, all from the Jammu region.

Asked if delimitation succeeded as BJP’s political strategy, Madhav said that the process can’t be linked to the elections. “It was overdue, and it was decided in 2019 that it would take place. In a place like Jammu and Kashmir, for any government to be successful… it requires equal representation from both Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

He said, the BJP’s electioneering process hoped for such a government to be in place. “But because the numbers in the Valley were overwhelmingly in favour of a party, they (a Kashmir-based party) formed the government. Ideally, the numbers should have represented both Kashmir and Jammu,” he said.

Asked if BJP considered aligning with NC, Madhav said, “no, never.” “We were hoping that we would be able to get a good number of seats and that there will be a government that has equitable representation of both Jammu and Kashmir. But the mandate is such that a Kashmir-centric government is in place,” he said.

The BJP leader said that one should look at the new J&K government from an aspirational point of view.

“If you continue to see it through the 2019 prism, then probably you do not understand this mandate fully. It’s a very important transformation, but it is as much an administrative transformation as political,” he asserted.

“We did away with it (Article 370) because it was an anomaly in the Constitution, but the larger aspect of it is that it benefited the people. It was not just a show of strength of the Central government,” he said. That subtle message has to be kept in mind… The Prime Minister’s message has been that life without 370 is much better than life with it, Madhav said. That’s why Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on the very day of the results that 370 was not a priority, he said.

Commenting on the statehood of J&K, Madhav said that the two words commonly used to talk about statehood are: return and restore. He said, people should stop using both these words. Because the Jammu and Kashmir that is now being talked about it totally a new entity.

“There is a demand, about which we also talk about, and both the Home Minister and Prime Minister have made it clear that Jammu and Kashmir will get statehood,” he said.

“It is a fresh state. What will be the shape and form of that state will be decided by Parliament,” he said.

There will be discussion, there will be an Act granting certain powers to the UT at the appropriate time. Giving statehood is a commitment made by the (Central) government. When and how will be decided by Parliament, Madhav said.

“Our priority now is different… We have to address the issues of bread and butter that matter to the people. For example, a state economy that is heavily dependent on the Centre, industrialisation, economic activities, employment generation, etc. The current government has to act on them,” he said.

About the tensions in Ladakh, Madhav said, there are complicated issues. “In Ladakh, the demand for the Sixth Schedule is largely to do with the specific purpose of protecting the land and jobs of the people there. Talks are on. The issues will be addressed,” he said.

Asked how he sees the BJP’s growth in the region, Madhav said, they are the largest opposition party with a strong voice. “We will grow in Kashmir Valley,” Madhav claimed.

Asked about his role in the J&K now, Madhav said, “I do not know about it. My role in Jammu and Kashmir was limited to only the elections. The party will decide about the future.”

Speaking on the talks of strained ties between the RSS and BJP, Madhav said, “If there was any issue, do you think I would have been given the responsibility in the party that I have? The RSS has its own role during elections, and it performs that. The BJP has its own challenges… (There is) No such strain in relations.”