Exhausted Mehbooba Mufti had no choice but to fall in line

Exhausted Mehbooba Mufti had no choice but to fall in line

FPJ BureauUpdated: Friday, May 31, 2019, 04:52 PM IST
article-image

COMMENT/ Writer is senior journalist based in Valley

Srinagar : On January 7, when Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed passed away  in a New Delhi hospital, his daughter Mehbooba Mufti could have stepped into his shoes shortly after the veteran politician was interned to grave at his native town Bijbehara in south Kashmir.

The alliance partner BJP had no objection to Ms Mufti’s elevation to the top post. However, Mehbooba Mufti took 80 days to approach the Raj Bhawan before staking claim to form the coalition Government — the second phase of an unprecedented alliance between two ideologically diverse parties.

The first 9-month phase ended prematurely with the demise of Mufti Sayeed who had co-authored the Agenda of Alliance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a roadmap for governance in the embattled state, before taking oath on March 1, 2015.

Mehbooba to stake claim; PDP-BJP delegation to meet Guv

During these 80 days, the militancy-affected northern state with unique constitutional and

political characteristics went through turns and twists of far-reaching consequences. Mehbooba’s initial reluctance in taking oath was due to her profound grief. Eventually, the state was put under Governor’s Rule and the state legislative assembly went into suspended animation.

In the subsequent days, when the mourning period ended, Mehbooba began voicing her reservations in renewing the alliance with BJP. She sought J&K-specific Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) from the Centre on political and economic front, before taking over reins of the government. The BJP remained composed and its leadership stuck to the stand that it was committed to support Mehbooba Mufti to become the Chief Minister. The party asked the PDP to take the first technical step for government formation — choose the leader of legislature party — before seeking support from

‘Lotus’ for Mehbooba Mufti in J&K, albeit thorny

the BJP. She eventually did it on March 24, two days after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his New Delhi residence. Mehbooba emerged “very satisfied” after meeting with Modi and this triggered the formal activities on the government formation. No fresh J&K-specific CBMs were announced. The two parties reiterated that they were committed to the Agenda of Alliance.

Astute political analysts in Kashmir were convinced that Mehbooba will form the government with the BJP sooner rather than later. There are reasons. Firstly, the 2014 elections have thrown such a verdict that makes this alliance the most sustainable even as Mehbooba had begun calling it as “the most unpopular but courageous step taken by her father”.

Secondly, Mehbooba could have ill-afforded to go for fresh elections because she had nothing to show to people as the outcome of her father’s nine month tenure. She could not ignore the fact that Kashmir remained ‘normal’ when the news of Mufti’s demise broke and fewer people actually turned up to attend the two funeral prayers held for the departed leader in Srinagar and Bijbehara.

Thirdly, a tie-up with n arch rival National Conference is unthinkable and joining hands with Congress meant affront to he Centre, which a state like J&K can ill-afford. Then why did Mehbooba choose to delay the government formation for nearly three months? She says that the delay was worth it but there is no indication from the Centre that any of her demands have been conceded. There are no specific CBMs in sight.

Therefore, the first challenge for Mehbooba would be to convince the people on the inordinate delay and its outcome. Interestingly, there was no jubilation in any part of Kashmir over 56-year-old Mehbooba staking claim to become the first woman CM of the state.

One reason is that the unpopularity of the PDP-BJP alliance has not dissipated.  Second, on the administration front, Governor’s rule was appearing to be a better option than the regimes of politically elected politicians. By January 26 evening when Mehbooba Mufti went to meet the Governor to stake claim for government formation, the Governor’s administration had disbursed Rs 896 crore for 147854 houses damaged by the 2014 devastating floods and Rs 64.30 crore for affected Kashmiri traders. During Mufti’s regime, all that the flood affected people received were the promises of relief and rehabilitation. And, relief money is not the only thing the flood affected people received directly in their bank accounts.

Governor NN Vohra, who is serving eighth year in his second term, raised the bar for governance. He, inter alia, dismissed 100 doctors from service to pave the way for fresh recruitments for understaffed hospitals, began a process to bring corrupt officials to justice, enhanced ration quota under the National Food Security Act, and gave nod to framing of rules for appointment of law officers, linking it with seniority, standing and efficiency of the appointees as lawyers.

The governor approved a free drug policy and the new advertisement policy for newspapers and media. These initiatives were lingering for many years and the elected governments were unable to take decisions. Most importantly, the governor almost finalized the vacation of land occupied by the army for decades in Jammu, Srinagar, Kargil, Leh and Anantnag. These land stretches would be handed over to civil authorities for public use. Mehbooba Mufti built her political career by identifying herself with the sufferings of common people. She emerged on the political landscape in 1996 seven years after the armed revolt had begun in J&K against the Indian rule.

During this period, the state witnessed the worst human rights abuses and highhandedness at the hands of security forces. She and her father, after founding the PDP in 1998, began to cry against human rights abuses and gradual disempowerment of the Kashmiri people. The party eventually carved out its political space: It appeared to be sympathetic to separatist sentiments but sought to act within the constitutional framework of India. The politics worked and the PDP became a viable alternative to the National Conference that dominated regional politics for decades.

But cobbling up an alliance with the BJP dented the PDP’s soft-separatist image in Kashmir. The PDP no longer cries for self-rule as it has given up the demand in lieu of BJP’s promise to not tinker with the special status of J&K in the Indian constitution. PDP’s oft-repeated demands for resolution of Kashmir and dialogue with Pakistan were dealt with contempt by the Narendra Modi government. Modi told a public gathering in Srinagar on November 8, 2015, that he does not need advice from anybody on Kashmir.  This was in response to the late Mufti’s proposal to initiate  dialogue with Pakistan and separatists. Mufti’s daughter was also dealt with in the same manner.

She was not given any public assurance on her demands and was exhausted to the limit that she fell in line to form the government. The restoration of alliance with the BJP will not change the ground situation. The alliance could not combine the North Pole and the South Pole during Mufti’s time, and it won’t be possible to join them in the coming months and years. Mehbooba has the chance to re-emerge as a leader if she does some ground-breaking work on the developmental front. The governor has left a list of achievable targets for her. The central government would like her to forget about the “resolution of Kashmir and sentiments of people”.

RECENT STORIES

'Institutional Murder': Congress Leader Pappu Yadav Remarks On The Death Of Mukhtar Ansari

'Institutional Murder': Congress Leader Pappu Yadav Remarks On The Death Of Mukhtar Ansari

Lok Sabha Elections 2024: BJP Unveils Campaign Strategy In UP, Books 19 Chartered Planes For Star...

Lok Sabha Elections 2024: BJP Unveils Campaign Strategy In UP, Books 19 Chartered Planes For Star...

Kolkata: BJP Leader Dilip Ghosh Once Again Makes Controversial Statement Against TMC After ECI Sends...

Kolkata: BJP Leader Dilip Ghosh Once Again Makes Controversial Statement Against TMC After ECI Sends...

Kolkata: TMC Leader Mahua Moitra Skips ED Summons, To Start Campaigning For Upcoming Lok Sabha...

Kolkata: TMC Leader Mahua Moitra Skips ED Summons, To Start Campaigning For Upcoming Lok Sabha...

ED Questions AAP Leaders In Goa Liquor Policy Scam Investigation; Kejriwal's Custody Extended

ED Questions AAP Leaders In Goa Liquor Policy Scam Investigation; Kejriwal's Custody Extended