Resolution related issue

At a time when National Conference (NC) and Congress are poles apart in interpreting the special status related resolution passed by the legislative assembly, former Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah has stated that unity between the two parties is very important. He said that unity under the banner of I.N.D.I.A bloc is essential not only for the people of Jammu and Kashmir but for the entire country, as such measures can lead to the path of humanity and development in a big way.

“This alliance is for changing the country for the good and changing its strategy for the good so that we can face the challenges and do things better for the people. We must work with unity,” Dr Farooq Abdullah said. He was addressing a function, organised to pay tributes to Congress leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma, who passed away some years back, on his birth anniversary, in Jammu a few days back. Congress leaders also attended the function. The plea was made by NC President at a time when  divergent views are being expressed by his party and the Congress on the assembly resolution.

Passing of the resolution has generated a debate on national level particularly because of the assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. BJP top leadership left no stone unturned in targeting Congress on the issue. On the other hand Congress  tried to defend  and delink itself completely from Article 370. At the central  level Congress has been saying that the resolution has nothing to do with Article 370 and it is only for statehood restoration.

In Jammu and Kashmir their leadership says that the resolution besides demanding statehood also wants some special rights  for the local people on jobs, land and resources as such rights are there in some other states also. Some  months back, the senior Congress leader and leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi too had talked about these rights during the campaigning in assembly election here.

The difference of opinion between NC and Congress on the resolution has given an opportunity to Kashmir based opposition parties to  accuse  the  newly elected government of misleading the people.  NC leadership has been reiterating that the resolution was very much about Article 370 since the special status was granted to J&K under this Article.

Since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, Congress never said that it is against the abrogation. The main national opposition party had initially objected to the way the Article was abrogated and the erstwhile state downgraded to two union territories.

For Congress the Article 370 is a closed chapter as Parliament has abrogated it and Supreme Court has given its stamp to the decision. However, now on the resolution passed in the assembly, the party finds itself at the back foot in view of  NC’s open stand that the resolution is about Article 370. The fierce criticism by the BJP is making things difficult for Congress in assembly poll bound Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Whenever assembly elections are held in any other state in the coming time,  BJP would use the J&K assembly resolution to weaken Congress.

This despite the fact that all political parties besides the people of Jammu and Kashmir know that the resolution has only some symbolic political importance and that it cannot bring back the Article 370 , which is gone for ever. Whatever was eroded since 1953 was not given back  to J&K and  the demand for their restoration remains confined only to political slogans and electoral agenda.

NC and Congress  do understand each other’s political compulsions on the issue but at the same time they want to stick to their respective stated positions. Congress would never like to be seen at the national level supporting any move for restoration of Article 370 because it is against their stance and can damage their political interests. BJP wants to take full advantage by building a narrative that Congress wants to bring back J&K flag and constitution through its move. However, both NC and Congress would continue to go together and not part ways. This despite Congress not being part of the government yet but supporting the NC  government.

At a time when Omar Abdullah government is demanding restoration of full statehood and is not in full control of the things in the union territory, the Kashmir based opposition parties too are getting increasingly active. Congress’ defensive approach on the assembly resolution is helping them  to allege that the ruling NC betrayed the mandate of the people by taking a soft line on August 5, 2019 decisions.

They say that instead of bringing a vague resolution, which is being interpreted differently at different levels, the Omar Abdullah government should have moved and passed a very strong, direct and clear resolution. According to them they had themselves tried to bring an appropriate resolution, which was not supported by the treasury benches in the assembly.

Echoes on the resolution may get louder in J&K in coming months due to the Panchayat and Urban Local Bodies (ULB) polls. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha recently said that these elections will be held soon.  The political parties have slowly started making preparations in this direction. Recently Dr Farooq Abdullah asked his party cadres to prepare for Panchayat and ULB polls. Similar directives have gone from other party heads to their party cadres. While the NC’s efforts are to keep the assembly polls like public support for it going in the coming panchayat and ULB elections also, the opposition would like to create an atmosphere in their own favour.

Author is the Senior Editor Greater Kashmir.